Visit the Billy Graham Library

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks on February 9, 2009

The Billy Graham Library is a tourist attraction in Charlotte, N.C., dedicated to the lanky evangelist who has spread the gospel throughout the world.

Wait, no. That’s not right. It’s dedicated to that gospel message, not the lanky evangelist who the Library is named for. Hmm. Suffice it to say, the barn-shaped not-a-museum has its share of controversy.

But the attraction itself tells the story of Billy Graham and the gospel he preached. Visitors enter through a 40-foot glass cross and meet Bessie, the animatronic cow. The 40,000-foot facility covers Graham’s lifetime of ministry, from his roots in a Charlotte dairy farm (hence the cow and a theme that permeates the place) to a tent revival in Los Angeles that pushed him into national prominence, to a recreation of the Berlin Wall and his efforts to share the gospel behind the Iron Curtain.

The Library includes a gift shop and a cafe dubbed the Graham Brothers Dairy Bar. Outside the Library you can also find the grave of Graham’s late wife, Ruth Bell Graham. Nearby is Graham’s boyhood home, restored and open for tours.

What you won’t find at the Billy Graham Library is books or scholarly research. You can find that at the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton, Ill.

The Billy Graham Library is open Monday through Saturday (yep, closed on Sundays) and there is no charge for admission. The Ashville Citizen-Times offers a virtual tour of the Billy Graham Library, complete with video.