Watergate at the Nixon Library: A Timeline

July 20, 1990 The Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace opens as a private facility under the ownership and control of the private Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace Foundation. The Watergate Exhibit, which reflected President Nixon’s perspective on the scandal, is the single largest exhibit in the facility.

1990-2007 Although condemned by certain Nixon critics over the years, no

one ever finds a single factual error in the original Watergate exhibit.

March 2007 As part of an agreement in which the Nixon Foundation will transfer ownership of the Nixon Library to the federal government, demolition of the Watergate exhibit begins so that a new exhibit, prepared by NARA in consultation with the Nixon Foundation, can be installed.

July 11, 2007 Control of the bulk of the properties owned by the private Richard

Nixon Library and Birthplace is transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration. The Nixon Library becomes the 12th presidential library in NARA’s presidential library system.

Early 2008 The Orange County Register describes a temporary Watergate

exhibit installed by NARA as consisting of “only a few vacant display cases, walls painted with the outline of the Watergate building, and newly installed television screens.”

April 14, 2008 The Orange County Register reports that the director of the Nixon

Library says the new Watergate exhibit is scheduled to open during the coming summer.

May 13, 2010 In accordance with the agreement by which the Nixon Library was

turned over to NARA, the Nixon Library director presents, for the first time, a draft of the proposed Watergate exhibit to the Richard Nixon Foundation for its review and comment. The draft is incomplete.

May 13, 2010 The director of the Nixon Library asks the Foundation to provide

its comments within a week. The assistant archivist for presidential libraries subsequently provides the Foundation with six weeks to review and comment on the proposed exhibit.

May 18, 2010 The Nixon Foundation names a small team to review NARA’s

proposed Watergate exhibit. June 21, 2010 After the Foundation is provided with additional materials by the

director of the Nixon Library, the review period begins. August 2, 2010 The Nixon Foundation submits its review to NARA. November 8, 2010 The assistant archivist for presidential libraries and the director of

the Nixon Library present a revised version of the Watergate exhibit to the Foundation review team at a meeting at NARA’s College Park, Maryland facility.

December 2010 In response to a request by the Nixon Foundation, the assistant

archivist for presidential libraries agrees not to include “snippets” taken from oral histories in the new Watergate exhibit without the written consent of the person who provided the oral history from which the snippet is excerpted.

February 2, 2011 NARA officials present another version of the Watergate exhibit to

members of the Foundation’s review team in a meeting at NARA’s College Park facility.

February 22, 2011 The Watergate exhibit room is closed so construction of the new

exhibit can begin. March 31, 2011 Official opening of the new Watergate exhibit at the Nixon

Library.