(Radio Iowa) – Plans are on track to completely revamp the eastern Iowa facility which honors the only American president who was born in Iowa. The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch is getting a 20-million dollar make-over, inside and out, according to David Ancelet, an assistant director of the Hoover Presidential Foundation. “There’s going to be a long renovation process,” Ancelet says. “It’s going to start in the first quarter of 2025, we’re not sure when, but it’s not going to wrap up until summer of 2026.” The full remodel and renovation project will essentially take the interior of the facility down to the studs, with an exterior facade update as well.

While hundreds of pieces of Hoover memorabilia have been shown over the decades in the museum, hundreds more are in storage that will finally be shown to the public, many for the first time. “There will be some items that are in the current museum that’ll be, I guess ‘repurpose’ is not quite the right word, but it’s going to be shown in a different way,” Ancelet says. “This is going to really take people through the life of Herbert Hoover, kind of have emotional up and downs throughout his life, and some of these former things that people are used to seeing will be reintegrated into the new museum.”

Hoover lived a fascinating life and the museum’s current exhibits tell the story — from his birth, to his life as an engineer, Secretary of Commerce, the 31st President of the United States, and his continued philanthropic work after leaving the White House. The re-envisioned museum will tell those same stories, but with more artifacts and sophisticated, user-friendly technology.  “It’ll be the entire story of Herbert Hoover, both what people perceive as negative,” he says, “but it’ll also educate the public about a lot of his humanitarian work and charitable work and a lot of the good parts about him.” The museum first opened in 1962 and hasn’t had a full remodel since the early 1990s. When it reopens in 2026, First Lady Lou Hoover will be featured more prominently.

“That is correct. They’re going to expand on Lou quite a bit more,” Ancelet says. “I mean, she has a great story of her own. There’s been a recent book written about her, so it’s really an opportunity to showcase her life as well, alongside Herbert.” The full price tag on the renovation project is 20-point-three million dollars, a large portion of which has already been raised by the foundation. “It’s largely done by individual donations from just everyday people who see the value in this, especially in the state of Iowa, in the community and such,” he says, “but we also have received grants from other organizations that see the value and the benefit of being able to retell the history of Herbert Hoover.”

To learn more or contribute, visit: timelessvaluescampaign.org. The library and museum will be open every day through the end of this year, with the only exceptions being Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.