National Archives Press Preview of Reagan Centennial Exhibit
Media Alert · Thursday, December 30, 2010

Washington, DC

What:  Washington, DC…National Archives press preview of rarely displayed original documents, and artifacts in recognition of the Ronald Reagan Centennial.

The National Archives in partnership with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum will feature a small, changing selection of rarely displayed original documents and three-dimensional objects, in recognition of the Ronald Reagan Centennial. The special display will open to the public on Friday, January 7, 2011, as part of a year-long feature in the permanent “Public Vaults” exhibition at the National Archives Building, located on Constitution Avenue, between 7th and 9th Streets, NW, Washington, D.C. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Highlights of the exhibit will include:

• Three pages of President Reagan's “Evil Empire” speech with his hand-written edits;
• Fragments of the first U.S. missile destroyed after the signing of the INF Treaty;
• Fragment of the last Soviet SS-20 missile, destroyed on May 12, 1991;
• Bronze cast of the Moscow Kremlin, given to Ronald Reagan by Mikhail Gorbachev following Reagan’s visit to the Soviet Union in 1988;
• Letter sent by General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to Ronald Reagan on April 2, 1986, concerning the lack of progress in negotiations after the Geneva Summit in 1985;
• President Reagan's “talking points” cards that he prepared for his private meeting with Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze on September 27, 1985.

When: Wednesday, January 5, 2011, 10 a.m.

Who:  Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero
Presidential Libraries Director Sharon Fawcett
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Supervisory Archivist Michael Duggan

Where:  Archivist’s Reception Room (Room 105), National Archives Building, 700 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC
Please use the 700 Pennsylvania, Ave., NW entrance

PLEASE NOTE: NO ARTIFICIAL LIGHT MAY BE USED.

Background:

On June 2, 2009, President Obama signed a bill (H.R. 131) which created the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission, an 11 person panel that will plan and carry out activities to mark the 100th anniversary, of the president's birth. The Ronald Reagan Centennial exhibit at the National Archives is created in cooperation with the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum will be featuring a number of special activities in 2011, including the opening of the Library’s completely renovated permanent exhibit on February 6, 2011.

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For Press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.

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