La Casa Pacifica (
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
: ''La Casa Pacífica'', meaning "The House of Peace")
[Richard Nixon]
183 – Remarks at a Reception for General Secretary Brezhnev in San Clemente, California
June 23, 1973. is a classic California beachfront mansion located in the
gated community of Cottons Point Estates/Cypress Shores in the South
Orange County beach town of
San Clemente, California, and overlooks the
Pacific Ocean from its blufftop position. This estate is also known as
President Richard Nixon's
Western White House
Listed below are the private residences of the various presidents of the United States. For a list of official residences, see President of the United States § Residence.
Private homes of the presidents
This is a list of homes where ...
, used while living and working outside of the official presidential residence, the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
in
Washington, D.C.
The large Spanish-style California
Mission Revival Style mansion was modeled after a country home in
San Sebastian, Spain and was designed by architect Carl Lindbom.
It was built in 1926 for Hamilton H. Cotton, one of the founding financiers of the city of San Clemente, and a
Democratic Party backer who entertained President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
and other prominent Democrats, as guests in his home.
Around the time Nixon took office in 1969 he asked a young campaign aide, Fred Divel, to search the coast of
Southern California for a presidential hideaway.
Divel found the Cotton estate at the southernmost end of the then-sleepy San Clemente and immediately adjacent to the northern border of the massive
Camp Pendleton Marine Base (USMC). Nixon bought the estate in 1969 from Cotton's widow, and dubbed the home "La Casa Pacifica". It was soon nicknamed "The
Western White House
Listed below are the private residences of the various presidents of the United States. For a list of official residences, see President of the United States § Residence.
Private homes of the presidents
This is a list of homes where ...
" by the press, and the name was favored by Nixon himself; the latter became the term of subsequent similar presidential homes.
After purchasing the estate Nixon made a number of alterations to the original home, done for both personal preferences and for the needs of the
Secret Service. The
tennis court was replaced with a
swimming pool and much of the estate was wrapped by a C-shaped wall.
Today the almost estate includes about of living space, with tile and hardwood flooring, arched doorways and detailed
groin-vaulted ceilings. Among its key features is the ocean-view office used by Nixon, an entertainer's pavilion, and a master suite with an expanded bathroom and closet area. Formal living spaces open to a classic hacienda-style patio courtyard with a hand-painted tile fountain in its center. The missing tennis court has since been replaced with a modern one.
During Nixon's tenure as chief executive, the home was visited by such VIP guests as
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev,
President of Mexico Gustavo Díaz Ordaz
Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Bolaños (; 12 March 1911 – 15 July 1979) was a Mexican politician and member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He served as the President of Mexico from 1964 to 1970.
Díaz Ordaz was born in San Andrés ...
,
Prime Minister of Japan Eisaku Satō
was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1972. He is the third-longest serving Prime Minister, and ranks second in longest uninterrupted service as Prime Minister.
Satō entered the National Diet in 1949 as a membe ...
, longtime aide
Henry Kissinger and close friend
Bebe Rebozo
Charles Gregory "Bebe" (pronounced ) Rebozo (November 17, 1912 – May 8, 1998) was an American Florida-based banker and businessman who was a friend and confidant of President Richard Nixon.
Early life
The youngest of 12 children (he ...
.
It is an interesting historical footnote that U.S. Coast Guard
LORAN Station San Mateo Point (located in southernmost San Clemente) would play a part in the Watergate scandal of the 1970s, which ultimately led to the resignation of President Nixon (ostensibly to avoid impeachment). According to the US Government Printing Office Web Site:
Following the president's resignation, both he and his wife retired to the San Clemente estate, where Nixon composed his memoirs. During those years many in the local community still displayed their loyalty to the embattled former president despite the public embarrassment of the collapse of his political career.
The
Frost/Nixon interviews were originally planned for La Casa Pacifica, but radio signals from the Coast Guard's neighboring navigational-aid transmitters interfered with the TV gear; the interview had to be moved to the nearby home of a Nixon supporter.
The Nixons sold their home to
Allergan
Allergan plc is an American, Irish-domiciled pharmaceutical company that acquires, develops, manufactures and markets brand name drugs and medical devices in the areas of medical aesthetics, eye care, central nervous system, and gastroenterology. ...
founder Gavin S. Herbert and his business partners and moved to New York City in 1980 A strong
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
donor, Herbert kept the home as his own while developing the area around it into an enclave of individual luxury mansions.
The home has remained a private residence and was closed to the public; however, its legacy as a presidential retreat is still used as a calling card for the city of San Clemente.
The road adjacent to
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...
in the area is called Avenida del Presidente (Avenue of the President).
The estate sits just north of some of the West Coast's best and most well known
surfing spots, which cover four miles from
San Onofre State Park through Lower and Upper
Trestles and ending at Cotton's Point, itself one of the best big summer wave spots along the entire coast.
In December 2009, the city of San Clemente passed a "Historical Property Preservation Agreement"
to restore, improve, and preserve this historical building.
Gavin Herbert publicly listed La Casa Pacifica for sale in April 2015, with an asking price of $75 million. He removed the property from the market in September. He relisted the property for $69 million in April 2016 and again received no offers, withdrawing it from the market in October. In 2017 and 2018, Herbert again offered the property at a reduced price of $63.5 million. In May 2019, the property was relisted at a discounted price of $57.5 million, but it had been removed from the market by early 2020. In April 2021, it was relisted for $65 million.
See also
*
List of residences of presidents of the United States
Listed below are the private residences of the various presidents of the United States. For a list of official residences, see President of the United States § Residence.
Private homes of the presidents
This is a list of homes where ...
References
External links
The Western White House a photo tour of the home by a guest.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casa Pacifica, La
Presidential homes in the United States
Richard Nixon
Buildings and structures in San Clemente, California
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California
Houses in Orange County, California
Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California
Houses completed in 1926