Press Release
January 28, 2008
Contact: Robert Hicks (512) 936-4600, robert.hicks@thestoryoftexas.com
VISITORS BECOME EYEWITNESSES TO HISTORY IN UPCOMING EXHIBITION EYEWITNESS: AMERICAN ORIGINALS FROM THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AT THE BOB BULLOCK TEXAS STATE HISTORY MUSEUM
“Nothing can be believed but what one sees, or has from an eye witness.” Thomas Jefferson, July 19, 1789
Austin, TX -- With only a handful of stops across the nation, the Museum is the only place in Texas where you can be an eyewitness to this historical treasure trove. Eyewitness (February 16 through April 20, 2008) draws on rarely-displayed documents, audio recordings, and film footage from the extensive holdings of the National Archives and its Presidential Libraries and Regional Archives.
History books describe the American Revolution or Emancipation, but the power of the original accounts, written or recorded at the time of the event, allows visitors to experience them firsthand. Many of the documents are enhanced through a free audio tour, in which actors convey the drama of the events in the documents.
The exhibition will present Lady Bird Johnson's audio diary, in which visitors will hear Mrs. Johnson describing the events of President Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963. The Lone Star State's only venue for Eyewitness is also the only stop on the national tour where visitors will be able to see the original typed transcripts of that account.
Visitors can also read Thomas Jefferson's account of the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille, feel the joy of fugitive slave John Boston in a letter to his wife Elizabeth, and hear the wonder in Apollo 8 crew member Jim Lovell's voice as he describes the vastness of space.
The Museum will also be the only spot in the nation where you can get eyewitness accounts from the Texas Revolution. Two handwritten accounts — the famous "Victory or Death" letter from Alamo commander William B. Travis and a letter to a friend from a Texas defender at Goliad — offer different prospectives from two men facing similar overwhelming odds.
This exhibition was created by the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC, and the Foundation for the National Archives. The national tour of Eyewitness is sponsored by The Boeing Company. Local support: The Albert and Ethel Herzstein Hall Fund. Local media support: Time Warner Cable.
Check out the official exhibition website at:
Admission to the exhibits, including Eyewitness: American Originals from the National Archives is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors/military/college students (with valid ID), $4 for youth ages 5-18, free for ages 4 and under. The Museum is located at 1800 N. Congress Ave., at the corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in downtown Austin. For more information, call 512-936-TSHM (512-936-8746) or go online to www.TheStoryofTexas.com. # # #