Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
Yorba Linda
January 19, 2020
Our first museum trip of 2020 was to the Nixon library in Yorba Linda, up in Orange County. Last year we visited the Reagan library in Simi Valley and purchased a membership. That membership offers reciprocal admission privileges at other presidential libraries, and we were interested in the Nixon library, so we made a point of going before the membership expired. (We never did write up our February 2019 Reagan outing, but a blog post about an earlier visit we made to the Reagan library can be seen here.) We were also interested in the special exhibition at the Nixon library that ran just through March 1, about the Apollo 11 mission and moon landing.
We were totally engrossed by the museum, both permanent collection and temporary exhibit. That’s why we are running behind with this blog post; a full report would require a much longer write up than we usually provide. Let’s just hit the highlights.
The permanent collection recounts the history of Nixon’s life before, during and after his presidency. It starts with his presidency, then the second section of the permanent galleries traces his life before and after his time as president. (In contrast, the permanent galleries at the Reagan museum follow a strict chronological approach, starting with his boyhood.) The Watergate gallery is comprehensive and does not pull punches. We were completely fascinated by the exhibits and became immersed in the events of that era, to the point that we did not realize how much time had gone by. Richard Nixon was never one of our favorite public figures, but as we traced the events of his life at the museum, we were impressed with his humble origins, work ethic, intelligence, and persistence. We knew about, but were interested to revisit, the main events of his presidency: the trip to China, detente, the Vietnam war and disengagement, domestic social changes, etc. But we were not aware of Nixon’s continuing role as an elder statesman, consulted by subsequent presidents on foreign policy matters. We were also struck by one comment: that he was an introvert in an extrovert’s profession.
There are good videos throughout the museum, especially the introductory video at the entrance, which features some of Nixon’s advisors, including Henry Kissinger, as well as biographers and family members. There are historical video recordings as well, such as the Checkers speech, and Nixon’s resignation speech which we both remember hearing.
Nixon’s birth home is located on the grounds and can be toured with a docent. His father Frank Nixon built the house himself, from a kit supplied by a lumber yard.
Also on the grounds is the helicopter Nixon used while president, and it can be toured as well. It is the one area that is not handicapped accessible; visitors must climb stairs to get into it.
The temporary exhibit commemorating the moon landing sparked memories for both of us, of that magical summer night when we first watched men walk on the surface of the moon.
The building that we visited was the museum. The presidential library, with an extensive document collection, is a separate building, open for research Monday through Friday.
There is no full service café on site; there is a lunch cart, which closes at 3 pm. Visitors are free to leave and eat elsewhere and then return.
Full price tickets are $16, with discounts for seniors, students, military, and children. The museum is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, and Sunday 11am to 5pm. Accessibility good, except for the helicopter.
Parking is free, and there were plenty of open spaces the day we visited.