Stonewall, TX – Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park announced the official opening of the LBJ Ranch home of President Lyndon B. and “Lady Bird” Johnson on Wednesday, August 27, the 100th anniversary of President Johnson’s birth. The public viewed his 1960s office in the house, which had been restored to its appearance during the presidential years with the original furnishings and personal belongings that he used. Also opening to the public for the first time that day was the LBJ Ranch airplane hangar, scene of presidential press conferences and Johnson family gatherings, including movie screenings and parties. Tours of the Texas White House office and admittance to the hangar began after the annual wreath laying event honoring Lyndon Johnson’s life and legacy (held since 1973 in the Johnson family cemetery on the ranch) was concluded.

Another first will be the opening of the LBJ Ranch to private vehicular traffic, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on August 27 and continuing through September 30. During that time, there will be no ranger-guided bus tours of the LBJ Ranch. After September 30, this approach to experiencing the ranch will be evaluated and future planning that fully includes public input will continue. Beginning on August 27, drivers must display a permit to enter the ranch. Permits will be available at Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site’s Visitor Center, one mile east of Stonewall or 14 miles west of Johnson City off U.S. Highway 290.

The public was invited to drive on to the ranch for the wreath laying and commemorative program, which commenced at approximately 10:30 a.m. President and Mrs. Johnson’s daughters, Lynda Johnson Robb and Luci Baines Johnson, officiated the ceremony and shared their personal reminiscences. Colonel Jacqueline D. Van Ovost of Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio assisted in laying the wreath and offered remarks suitable to the occasion.

Immediately following the ceremony, the public was invited to adjourn to the ranch airplane hangar, where National Park Service tours of the newly restored presidential office, the Texas White House grounds, and the area surrounding the U.S. Secret Service Command Post originatee.

.For further information or driving directions, and for additional upcoming events during 2008, Lyndon B. Johnson’s Centennial Year, please call (830) 868-7128, ext. 244, or log on to www.lbj100.org.