The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and burial site of

Richard Milhous Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

, the 37th

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

(1969–1974), and his wife

Pat Nixon Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (''née'' Ryan; March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974 as the wife of President Richard Nixon. She also served as Second Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 wh ...

. Located in Yorba Linda, California, on land that President Nixon's family once owned, the library is one of 13 administered by the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

(NARA). The campus is located at 18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard in Yorba Linda and incorporates the

Richard Nixon Birthplace The Richard Nixon Birthplace is the birthplace and early childhood home of Richard Nixon, the 37th president of the United States. It is located on the grounds of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum at 18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard ...

, a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

where Nixon was born in 1913 and spent his childhood. From its dedication on July 19, 1990, until July 11, 2007, the library and museum was operated by the private

Richard Nixon Foundation The Richard Nixon Foundation is a not-for-profit organization based at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California. It was founded in August 1983 by Richard Nixon, 37th president of the United States, and served ...

and was known as the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace. The facility underwent an extensive renovation in 2016 and now features updated, multimedia museum exhibits; the complex is jointly operated by NARA and the Richard Nixon Foundation.

Background prior to dedication

Historically, all presidential papers were considered the personal property of the president. Some took them at the end of their terms while others destroyed them.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

was the first to make them available to the public when he donated them to the National Archives in 1939, as the

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum holds the records of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States (1933–1945). Located on the grounds of Springwood, the Roosevelt family estate in Hyde Park, New ...

, but did so voluntarily. The Watergate scandal and Richard Nixon's subsequent resignation from office complicated the issue, however. In September 1974, Richard Nixon made an agreement with the head of the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

, Arthur F. Sampson, to turn over most materials from his presidency, including the tape recordings he had made of conversations in the White House. However, the recordings were to be destroyed after September 1, 1979, if directed by Nixon, or by September 1, 1984, or his death otherwise. Alarmed that Nixon's tapes may be lost,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

abrogated the Nixon–Sampson Agreement by passing the

Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act The Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act (PRMPA) of 1974 (, codified at note is an act of Congress enacted in the wake of the August 1974 resignation of President Richard M. Nixon.Gerald Ford in December 1974. It applied specifically to materials from the Nixon presidency, directing NARA to take ownership of the materials and process them as quickly as possible. Private materials were to be returned to Nixon. As a result of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act, President Nixon's White House papers and tapes were held by the National Archives, and so they could not be transferred to a facility in Yorba Linda. Funding to build the Nixon Library came from private sources. The estimated cost to build the institution was $25 million. Ground was broken by

Julie Nixon Eisenhower Julie Nixon Eisenhower ( Nixon; born July 5, 1948) is an American author who is the younger daughter of former U.S. president Richard Nixon and his wife Pat Nixon. Her husband David is the grandson of former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower ...

, the youngest daughter of President Nixon and Mrs. Nixon, in December 1988.

Dedication

The original library and birthplace was officially dedicated on July 19, 1990. Former President Nixon and First Lady

were present, as were President George H. W. Bush, former President Gerald Ford, former President Ronald Reagan, and first ladies

Barbara Bush Barbara Pierce Bush (June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of President George H. W. Bush, and the founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She previously w ...

Betty Ford Elizabeth Anne Ford (; formerly Warren; April 8, 1918 – July 8, 2011) was the first lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, as the wife of President Gerald Ford. As first lady, she was active in social policy and set a precedent as a p ...

, and Nancy Reagan. A crowd of 50,000 gathered for the ceremony. At the dedication, Nixon said, "Nothing we have ever seen matches this moment–to be welcomed home again."

Facilities

Gravestones of President Richard and first lady Pat Nixon

The museum, housed in a building, offers a narrative of Nixon's life and career. Behind the museum is the

birthplace The place of birth (POB) or birthplace is the place where a person was born. This place is often used in legal documents, together with name and date of birth, to uniquely identify a person. Practice regarding whether this place should be a cou ...

, which was constructed by Nixon's father using a home building kit, and restored to appear as it was in the 1910s. President Nixon and Pat Nixon are buried on the grounds, just a few feet from the birthplace. The Nixon Library compound also contains the Katharine B. Loker Center and Annenberg Court, a wing constructed in 2004, which includes a special exhibit room and an exact replica of the East Room of the White House that is used as an event space; the Nixon Foundation leases the East Room for events such as weddings and business meetings.

Presidential Museum

There is an extensive collection of memorabilia, artifacts, formal clothing, and photographs of the Nixons and their children. This collection includes an assortment of bronze figures of world leaders who had important relations with Nixon as president or during his service as vice president under President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

from 1953 to 1961. The leaders have been accurately recreated in lightweight bronze over a

papier-mâché upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...

frame, and they are dressed in their actual clothing. The U.S. government limousine used by President Nixon throughout his presidency, a customized 1969

Lincoln Continental The Lincoln Continental is a series of mid-sized and full-sized luxury cars produced by Lincoln, a division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company. The model line was introduced following the construction of a personal vehicle for Ed ...

, is on display in the domestic affairs gallery. A piece of the Berlin Wall is exhibited in the expansive foreign affairs gallery, which also includes a replica of a modest Midwest home from where American soldiers originated, statues of Nixon and Chinese Premier

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Ma ...

and pages of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty I signed by Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev in 1972. Lieutenant Colonel Gene Boyer, President Nixon's chief helicopter pilot, secured the President's VH-3A " Sea King" helicopter, tail number 150617, to be on permanent display on the library grounds. The helicopter was in the presidential fleet from 1961 to 1976, transporting Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford, and many foreign heads of state and government. Boyer flew President Nixon dozens of times to Camp David, over the pyramids in Egypt, and on his final flight from the White House in this aircraft. The entire facility underwent a $15 million renovation in 2016, and reopened on October 14 of that year with appearances from Dr.

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

, former California Governor

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California betw ...

and Chinese Ambassador to the United States

Cui Tiankai Cui Tiankai (; born October 1952) is a Chinese diplomat and longest-serving Chinese Ambassador to the United States, a role he filled from April 2013 to June 2021. Early life and education In 1952, Cui was born in Shanghai, China. He is a na ...

. The new museum includes nearly 70 exhibits, including a replica of President Nixon's Oval Office. Much of the media surrounding the reopening referred to the museum's appeals to the

Millennial Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s ...

generation; ''USA Today'' called it "a video-centric, cutting-edge experience" in which "guests are constantly invited to try touch screens or other interactive displays." The money was raised entirely from private sources.

Joint Operation with the National Archives

In January 2004, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

passed legislation that provided for the establishment of a federally-operated Nixon Presidential Library. Specifically, the legislation amended the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974, which mandated that Nixon's presidential materials were to remain in National Archives II facility in

College Park, Maryland College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and is approximately four miles (6.4 km) from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. The population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States Census. It is best known ...

. Under this new legislation, over 30,000 presidential gifts as well as millions of presidential records were moved from College Park to Yorba Linda. In March 2005, the Nixon Foundation invited the National Archives to jointly operate the Nixon Library, and then-Archivist of the United States

Allen Weinstein Allen Weinstein (September 1, 1937 – June 18, 2015) was an American historian, educator, and federal official who served in several different offices. He was, under the Reagan administration, cofounder of the National Endowment for Democracy in ...

allowed for the Nixon Library to become the twelfth federally funded presidential library, operated and staffed by NARA, in conjunction with the Nixon Foundation. In April 2006, Weinstein appointed

Timothy Naftali Timothy Naftali is a Canadian-American historian who is clinical associate professor of public service at New York University. He has written four books, two of them co-authored with Alexander Fursenko on the Cuban Missile Crisis and Nikita Khrus ...

director of the NARA Library activities. On July 11, 2007, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum was officially welcomed into the federal presidential library system. Before the National Archives took over its management, the Nixon Library had been accused by several media outlets of glossing over Nixon's 1974 resignation with "whitewashed" exhibits. In 2007, the National Archives removed the Watergate exhibit that had been in place for 17 years and, after three years of empty exhibit space, announced that the new exhibit was scheduled to open in July 2010. The Nixon Foundation objected to the proposed exhibit, specifically the process by which the proposed exhibit was crafted due to the fact that the Nixon Foundation was not consulted in the way that other presidential foundations are in similar situations. The foundation filed a 158-page memorandum to the assistant archivist for presidential libraries expressing its dissatisfaction and NARA stated a committee would review the objection but gave no timeline for when that process would be concluded. The exhibit opened on March 31, 2011. In November 2011, the director of the library, Tim Naftali, resigned his position. Michael Ellzey was appointed as Director by the Archivist of the United States,

David Ferriero David Sean Ferriero (; born December 31, 1945) is an American librarian and library administrator, who served as the 10th Archivist of the United States. He previously served as the Director of the New York Public Library,Oder, Norman. "NYPL Reor ...

, on December 12, 2014. Ellzey officially began serving as Director on January 12, 2015.

Library collections

The archives, which opened in March 1994 (a month before Nixon's death), house approximately 46 million pages of official

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

records from the Nixon Administration. The Nixon Library now holds all of President Nixon's presidential as well as his pre- and post-presidential papers. As of 2012, all processed Nixon presidential materials are available for research use at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California.

References

External links

Richard Nixon Presidential Library

Richard Nixon Foundation

Video of the dedication of the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace, 1990

"Life Portrait of Richard M. Nixon"
from C-SPAN's '' American Presidents: Life Portraits'', broadcast from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, November 19, 1999 {{authority control Library buildings completed in 1990 Presidential libraries Museums in Orange County, California Historic house museums in California Libraries in California Presidential homes in the United States Presidential Library and Museum Presidential museums in the United States Biographical museums in California Libraries established in 1990 Museums established in 1990 1990 establishments in California Yorba Linda, California Tombs of presidents of the United States