YORBA LINDA, Calif. — Gone are the long rows of wood-framed display cases sprinkled with campaign paraphernalia and lengthy narratives about President Richard Nixon.
Instead, the renovated Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum tells the former president’s story through larger-than-life photographs, interactive touchscreens and video of Nixon’s speeches and his eventual departure from the White House.
The museum reopens today following a $15 million makeover aimed at bringing the country’s 37th president closer to younger generations less familiar with the Watergate scandal and his groundbreaking trip to China.
“It just wasn’t technologically savvy, and we needed to bring it into the 21st century,” said Michael Ellzey, the library’s director.
The overhaul also brings the 18,000-square-foot museum completely into the fold of the National Archives, which assumed control of the Yorba Linda library in 2007 and inherited exhibits designed by a foundation run by Nixon’s supporters that were seen by many as too partisan.
It is one of 13 presidential libraries that were built with private money and turned over to the National Archives to administer. In Nixon’s case, forming such a partnership was delayed for years by disputes over the records after his resignation and concerns the California site inaccurately portrayed history.
While the section devoted to Watergate was redone in 2011, those focused on the Vietnam War, U.S.-Soviet relations and domestic policy had not been upgraded since 1990. The texts of the new exhibits were reviewed by a panel of four historians chosen by the National Archives.
“The Nixon Library, for many years, wanted to present an image of Nixon that was one produced by his friends,” said David Farber, a panelist and University of Kansas history professor. “The new library is much better. They’re willing to concede there’s a lot of controversies about the Nixon presidency.”
The campus includes the house where Nixon was born and his final resting place.