Hasta La Ideas

After unveiling the plans and renderings around this time last year for the Robert A.M. Stern-designed George W. Bush Presidential Library/Center on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, then watching it balloon in size, we thought for certain that construction was underway already, but apparently not (we suppose raising money and lining up contractors does take some time, after all). However, while the Library in its current state is just an empty lot and drawings on paper, groundbreaking is set for November 16th, with a completion date expected sometime in 2013. To kick off the construction, this Saturday the university’s Meadows Museum opened “Breaking New Ground,” an exhibit showing off a handful of the collection that will go into the new building once it’s complete. Running until early February, it will also display the architectural plans for the Center. Here’s a few items from the collection that they’ll be showing:

The pistol retrieved from Saddam Hussein upon his capture in Iraq

A letter from Bono to President Bush regarding AIDS relief in Africa

The silk dress and bolero jacket designed by Oscar de la Renta and worn by Mrs. Bush at the White House dinner with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

A bronzed football commemorating the University of Texas Longhorns 2005 National Championship win, given as a gift to President Bush

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