La Casa Pacifica, Richard Nixon’s former seaside retreat in San Clemente, California, has reached its centenary with its future still tied to a question that has followed the property for decades: can its historic character survive the pressure of development? Built in 1926, the Spanish-Colonial Revival home became Nixon’s “Western White House” after he and his wife Pat purchased it in 1969. A century after its construction, its current owners are now openly stressing the need to protect the site from development and preserve the grounds that witnessed major moments in American history.
The 1926 house became Nixon’s Western White House
La Casa Pacifica was built in 1926 by H.H. Cotton, one of San Clemente’s founders. The Spanish-Colonial Revival property remained with the Cotton family until Richard and Pat Nixon purchased it in 1969. It soon became much more than a private coastal residence. Nixon spent nearly one-fifth of his presidency there, using the property as a retreat from Washington while continuing to conduct presidential business. According to the Richard Nixon Foundation, six US presidents have visited the property, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, making the house an unusual intersection of presidential, Californian and American history.
World leaders and historic decisions passed through its doors
During Nixon’s presidency, La Casa Pacifica functioned as an unofficial Western White House. The property hosted important political meetings and international diplomacy, including the 1973 summit during which Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev visited San Clemente. The home was also connected to Nixon’s efforts involving China, the Soviet Union and Vietnam. After his resignation in August 1974, Nixon and Pat returned to the seaside property, where he later worked on his memoirs. The house therefore became closely associated not only with Nixon’s private life but also with some of the most consequential years of his presidency.
The Nixons eventually sold the property in 1980
Richard and Pat Nixon did not retain La Casa Pacifica permanently. In 1980, they sold the home and its original 23 acres to Gavin Herbert and his business partners George Argyros and Donald Koll. The current property has since been reduced to nearly six acres, encompassing the historic residence, original guesthouse, pool and pool house, tennis court and several gardens. One of those gardens contains a tree grown from a cutting of the Andrew Jackson magnolia at the White House, giving the grounds another unusual link to American presidential history. The Herbert family has owned and cared for the property for 46 years.
Deeply intertwined with 20th century American and California history, the Spanish-Colonial Revival style home was built in 1926 (Image: Nixon Foundation)
Its owners are now fighting to keep development away
As La Casa Pacifica turned 100 in 2026, its owners used a commemorative gathering to make preservation a central message. Gavin Herbert said the goal was to protect the property’s “integrity, character and legacy” and ensure it remains protected from development for future generations. The Richard Nixon Foundation reported that 130 guests gathered at the property in July to mark its centenary. During the event, former Nixon Foundation president Hugh Hewitt also highlighted the significance of the fact that the property had been preserved rather than sold to a developer. For its current owners, the centenary is therefore not simply a celebration of the past, but an effort to safeguard what remains of Nixon’s historic California retreat.