Republican Atheists’ President visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA
Republican Atheists’ President Lauren Ell had a great time visiting the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA on July 12, 2018.
This was the first time Ell visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, and her first time ever visiting a presidential library.
The library sits at the top of a hill in Simi Valley, located in the southeast corner of Ventura County. The road to the museum is called Presidential Drive, which is lined with lamp posts that have banners featuring images of past presidents, their names, and years served. There was even a banner for President Trump that noted the years served as “2016- “.
The presidential library contains all kinds of information, items and photos relating to Reagan’s childhood, time while president, and political policies. There was also information about Nancy Reagan, Reagan’s wife.
The largest room in the museum contains a replica of the Air Force One plane as it appeared while Reagan was president. Visitors can walk through the plane and take photos while waving outside of the main door. This room also contained one of Reagan’s limousines, as well as a Marine Force One helicopter that flew President Johnson.
A room was dedicated to the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan that occurred on March 30, 1981. The exhibit featured footage of the attempted assassination, where Reagan, White House Press Secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and police officer Thomas Delahanty, were injured.
A noted exhibit featured a replica of the Berlin Wall that divided West Berlin from East Germany from 1961-1989, as well as information about communist dictators such as Andropov, Mao, Chernenko, Stalin, Khrushchev, and others. Reagan was vehemently opposed to communism and made it a point to draw attention to it during his time as president. One of Reagan’s most famous lines is, “Tear down this wall!,” which he directed to the Soviet Union’s leader Mikhail Gorbachev on June 12, 1987. Government officials opened the border in November 1989 and began dismantling the wall on June 13, 1990.
A final exhibit featured photos, items and detail about the Reagan’s ranch, known as Rancho del Cielo, one of Reagan’s most beloved locations located in Santa Barbara, CA. Reagan sold the ranch to conservative organization Young America’s Foundation in 1998, which preserves the ranch and offers visitation to students and supporters who make requests to visit in advance.
Outside of the museum is a lovely memorial for Ronald Reagan, where he was laid to rest there on June 11, 2004, and his wife Nancy was later laid to rest on March 11, 2016. Close to the memorial is a replica of the White House south lawn. There is a beautiful view looking towards the Pacific Ocean.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is a fantastic location to visit and certainly requires a full day visit. For more information about the library, click here.
