(Ex)- Presidental centres or buildings

[Tigers!]

A friend if mine in the US sent me a picture of the Obama Presidental Centre building

He asked me what I thought of it.

My first thought was that it looked like something the Empire would build on a rebellious planet. Or one of those Jerry flak towers in WW2.

Is it common for former Presidents to have these centres done? Why?
A limited form of immortality or sticking it up the public? (Though Trump is busy renaming all manner of items now it seems).
Who pays for these things? The former presidents? Generous benefactors?
Do people really care that much? Do all fomer presients create these centres? Presidental Libraries I have heard of.

In Australia this is extremely rare as we'd rather our former PMs just disappear into the night.

 

[Patooka]

We did name a swimming pool after Harold Holt.

Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[laughing dog]

A friend if mine in the US sent me a picture of the Obama Presidental Centre building
View attachment 54057
He asked me what I thought of it.

My first thought was that it looked like something the Empire would build on a rebellious planet. Or one of those Jerry flak towers in WW2.

Is it common for former Presidents to have these centres done? Why?
A limited form of immortality or sticking it up the public? (Though Trump is busy renaming all manner of items now it seems).
Who pays for these things? The former presidents? Generous benefactors?
Do people really care that much? Do all fomer presients create these centres? Presidental Libraries I have heard of.

In Australia this is extremely rare as we'd rather our former PMs just disappear into the night.

The Obama Presidential Center is a library and a museum . Presidential libraries are financed privately but operated with federal funds. Starting with Herbert Hoover, every POTUS has a library. For earlier Presidents, there may state run (Lincoln), private or university run libraries.

I suspect most people don’t care. According to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) between 750,000 to 1 million people visit NARA sites with Ronald Reagan Library getting about half the visitors.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Goddamn, that is an eyesore. Ugly modernism. It looks like something you wedge into a port on a laptop.

 

[bilby]

In Australia this is extremely rare as we'd rather our former PMs just disappear into the night.

In Australia, the PM is not head of state.

SMH