The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library of Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States. It is located in Simi Valley, California and may be accessed by driving to the Olsen Road exit of California State Highway 23 , which connects to the nearby Ronald Reagan Freeway, California State Highway 118 .
First opened in 1991, it was the largest of all presidential libraries until the dedication of the Bill Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas on November 18, 2004, housing over 50 million pages of government records as well as a large collection of photographs and film. Contents include an eclectic assortment of Reagan memorabilia from both his presidency and his term as Governor of California. Various artifacts from Reagan's administration are stored there, including a chunk of the Berlin Wall, a deactivated nuclear missile, and a full-scale replica of the Oval Office on the last day of his presidency. The Boeing 707 jet plane modified for presidential use that was in primarily in service as Air Force One during Reagan's administration is currently being readied for display onsite. The other 707 that flew as Air Force One--the one Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as president aboard--is on display at the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The jet is going to be part of a museum of presidential travel, located at the presidential library (The 707 that will be on display is the one Reagan used when president, not the one by Johnson). Once the museum of presidential travel is dedicated, the Reagan Presidential Library will go back to being the largest of the presidential libraries.
On June 11, 2004, Reagan was buried following a sunset service on the library grounds. When he was buried there, it ended a week of scenes not seen since January 25, 1973, when LBJ was buried at his ranch in his familiar hill country of Texas.
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Last updated: 05-21-2005 19:39:16
