Location |
42°58′00″N 85°40′38″W / 42.966779°N 85.677341°WCoordinates: 42°58′00″N 85°40′38″W / 42.966779°N 85.677341°W Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan, United States |
---|---|
Construction start | January 7, 1976 |
Completion date | September 5, 1982 |
Dedicated | September 6, 1982 |
Named for | Gerald Ford |
Architect | Marvin DeWinter Associates; Jordan Sheperd |
Size | 44,000 sq. feet |
Cost | $11 million |
Management | National Archives and Records Administration |
Website | www |
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is the presidential museum and resting place of Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United States (1974–1977), and his wife Betty Ford, located near the Pew Campus of Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ford's presidential museum is the only such facility under the auspices of the National Archives and Records Administration to be separate from the presidential library, which is located approximately 130 miles (210 km) to the east in Ann Arbor. Despite the separation, the library and museum are a single institution with one director.
Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.) was born on July 14, 1913. Ford served nearly 25 years as a Representative of Michigan's 5th congressional district, eight of them as the Republican Minority Leader. Serving from 1973 to 1974 as the 40th Vice President of the United States, Ford was the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment. He then became President upon Richard Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, and served until January 20, 1977 as the 38th President of the United States. Ford is the only President of the United States who was not elected by ballot for his terms as either President or Vice-President.