Yorba Linda: the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace
Mickey Mouse may be its most famous resident, but conservative
Orange County's favorite son is former president Richard Milhous
Nixon , born in 1913 in what's now the freeway-caged Yorba
Linda , about eight miles northeast of Disneyland at 18001
Yorba Linda Blvd (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 11am-5pm; $5.95; ). His
birthplace - and final resting place, as he's buried in the grounds
- is a shrine to a man who forged a career from lies and secrecy,
and finally resigned from the world's most powerful job in total
disgrace. In the shadow of a 12ft high, 600lb chunk of the Berlin
Wall, oversized gifts from world leaders, amusing campaign
memorabilia and a laugh-a-line collection of obsequious letters
written by and to Nixon form the core of the exhibition, but the
man's distinctive persona is best enjoyed in the constantly running
archive radio and TV recordings.
Nixon's face leers down in Big Brother fashion from almost
every wall, but only inside the Presidential Auditorium do
you get the chance to ask him a question, although the choice is
limited to a small pre-programmed selection. Nixon's gaunt features
fill the overlarge screen and provide the stock replies - as oily
as ever.
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