Final Installment of Reagan Centennial Display Explores Reagan as the “Great Communicator”
Press Release · Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Washington, DC

Washington, DC…The National Archives is hosting its fourth and final installment of a year-long display to commemorate the 100th birthday of Ronald Reagan. Now on display are rarely seen documents and objects, including materials from three speeches that are especially representative of the President’s communication abilities.

The special display can be viewed at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, located on Constitution Avenue, between 7th and 9th Streets, NW.  Admission to the exhibition area is free, with the display accessible to the public through February 20, 2012. Museum hours are 10 AM to 5:30 PM, daily, except for Thanksgiving Day & December 25.

Highlights of the display include:

• The back-up copy of the President’s January 28, 1986, speech on the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger and the deaths of Commander Francis R. Scobee and crewmembers Michael J. Smith, Judith A. Resnik, Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Sharon Christa McAuliffe.
• Pages from President Reagan’s January 11, 1989 Farewell Address to the Nation, when he spoke for the last time from the White House Oval Office.
• A photograph of President Reagan saluting as he departs aboard Marine One from the United States Capital.
• A photograph of Reagan looking back out of the helicopter window over Washington, DC en route to Andrews Air Force Base.

Background

The National Archives in partnership with its Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum features a small, changing selection of rarely displayed original documents and three-dimensional objects in recognition of the Ronald Reagan Centennial.  The special display is part of a year-long feature in the permanent “Public Vaults” exhibition at the National Archives Building.

On June 2, 2009, President Obama signed a bill (H.R. 131) which created the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission, an 11 person panel that is planning and carrying out activities to mark the 100th anniversary of the President's birth. Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero is part of this special Commission.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is marking this centennial with a number of special activities in 2011, including the opening of its renovated permanent exhibition in February.

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

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