Did the poor economy and “staycations” help boost attendance at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum and the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site? Visitors certainly rose in 2009, even when the Library-Museum subtracts attendees at big-draw attractions. But what actually caused the increase is only the subject of speculation.


“The bottom line is that most of us don’t know,” Library-Museum Director Tim Walch said.

At minimum, the Library-Museum saw a 2-percent increase in visitors — from almost 51,800 in 2008 to almost 52,900, a difference of about 1,100 — when one subtracts attendance for the Vietnam Wall and the Honor Flag, which occurred during Hooverfest.

But add those days back in, and attendance jumps to almost 65,500 — a 21-percent increase over 2008 and a difference of 13,700.

“That’s a big bump,” Walch said.

Percentage-wise, the historic site seemed to have a more modest gain of 12.4 percent over 2008. But actual numbers are quite different: nearly 162,900 people stopped by the park in 2009, up from nearly 142,700 the year before, a difference of 20,200.

Of the 13 presidential museums, including one for Abraham Lincoln, the Hoover site was ranked 12th. Walch said Jimmy Carter’s museum dipped below Hoover’s because it was closed for renovations.

The Library-Museum’s figures are based on a fiscal year that runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. The Historic Site’s figures are from the calendar year. Both attendance figures capture the first nine months of the calendar year, so both reflect the same summer vacation season and the same Hooverfest. However, the Library-Museum’s figures count Christmas Past attendance from 2008, and the Historic Site counts that event from 2009.

Neil Korsmo, chief ranger for the Hoover Historic Site, said it is “impossible” for the park to accurately count the crowds at Hooverfest.

“It’s just a best-guess estimate,” he said.

Still, the numbers show trends in visitors, Korsmo said.

In 2007, the park had 118,300 visitors. That jumped in 2008 to 142,700.

“That was a dramatic increase ... because of the floods — a lot of other sites were closed,” he said.

While he could not be definitive, Walch thinks the troubled economy is part of the reason attendance is up, but he also wonders if there is a “recognition value.”

He notes that he often finds Web sites of contractors who are “proud of the fact that they worked here” on a project, whether big or small. Those contractors are oftentimes local, and bring families and tell others.

Korsmo agrees that it is impossible to know why every visitor came, but the park does notice increased traffic during certain times, like the Underground Railroad exhibit.

The Vietnam Wall is credited for drawing some 6,000 visitors, while the Honor Flag attracted about 6,500, Walch said. The Vietnam Wall had been here before, about five years ago, and was well-attended then, too.

“Clearly there is a compelling interest,” Walch said.

Walch said the Library-Museum has a mix of popular, historical and educational events going on throughout the year to draw visitors. The Library-Museum showed Barack Obama’s inauguration and University of Iowa football games in its auditorium, special exhibits highlighting Iowa in the William B. Quarton hall, and brought in speakers and period plays.

“It’s not a profit-based enterprise,” Walch said. “We’re here to protect the legacy and history of Hoover — that’s our core focus.”

The Library-Museum does not conduct market surveys to see what is popular, does not want to repeat itself and “has to be realistic about what we can borrow” to put together an exhibit.

Still, the museum realizes that visitors want “a lot of value.”

“More visitors expect more things ... like activities and multi-media and edu-tainment,” he said.

Visitors sometimes use the park for exercise, walking dogs and “seeing the sights and sounds of the prairie,” Walch said.

Korsmo said that assessment goes along with a visitor’s survey taken in June that many visitors came for “peace, solitude, and an interest in history.”

Walch said the Library-Museum has a mandate for keeping its focus on the 31st president, and the staff strive to do that.

“If we had a park or library and nobody came, do we measure our popularity based on that metric?” he said.

He considers it “pretty significant” that so many visitors come to a town of 2,300 or a county of 20,000.

Walch said the Hoover Library-Museum is among the top three museums in Iowa, along with the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque and the Iowa Children’s Museum in Coralville.

“(Visitors) had to make a conscious decision to come here,” Walch said.

The director said he does not think the Library-Museum will see another 65,000 in 2010 without the major attractions, but he is glad there seems to be “a positive view of the service, if not the man (Hoover).”

Attendance at the Library-Museum has been “flat or slightly up” over the last 10 years. The last significant peak was 72,000 in 1999. In 1989, attendance hit 105,000. When the Library-Museum marked Hoover’s centennial, attendance reached 140,000.

According to Korsmo’s figures, Hoover Park’s largest attendance came in 1988, when 310,000 visited. When the Visitors Center was upgraded in 2002, attendance was more than 191,000, an increase over 183,000 for the years that bookended it.