The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and final resting place of Richard Milhous Nixon, the 37th President of the United States. Located in Yorba Linda, California, the library is one of twelve administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. From its original dedication in 1990 until becoming a federal facility on July 11, 2007, the library and museum was operated by a private foundation and was known as the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace. The nine acre (36,000 m²) campus is located at 18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard in Yorba Linda, California and incorporates the National Historic Landmarked Richard Nixon Birthplace where Nixon was born in 1913 and spent his childhood. The facility is now jointly operated between NARA and the Richard Nixon Foundation.
Traditionally, materials and records of a U.S. president were considered to be his personal property upon leaving office. 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, Arthur F. Sampson, to turn over most materials from his presidency, including tape recordings of conversations he had made 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 abrogated the Nixon-Sampson Agreement by passing S.4016, signed into law by President Gerald Ford on in December 1974 as the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act. 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, thus 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, daughter of President and Mrs. Nixon, in December 1988.
The original Library & Birthplace was officially dedicated on July 19, 1990. Former President Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon were present, as were President George H. W. Bush, then the President of the United States, former President Gerald Ford, former President Ronald Reagan, and first ladies Barbara Bush, Betty Ford, 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."
The museum, housed in a 52,000-square-foot (4,800 m2) building, offers a narrative of Nixon's life and career. Behind the museum is the birthplace, which was constructed by Nixon's father using a homebuilding kit, and restored to appear as it was in 1910. President and Mrs. Nixon are buried on the grounds, just a few feet from the birthplace. Since California prohibits burial of remains on private property, the intended burial plot at the Library had to be deeded to a local church who classified the plot as a cemetery.
The Nixon Library compound also contains the Loker Center and Annenberg Court, a 38,000-square-foot (3,500 m2) wing with a Special Exhibit room and an exact replica of the East Room of the White House that is used as an event space; the East Room can be rented for events such as weddings and business meetings. This wing is under the control of the Nixon Foundation.
source:wikipedia
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