President Nixon’s Western White House lists for sale at $75 million

An oceanfront estate once owned by Richard Nixon, which he used as a Western White House during his presidency, is for sale in San Clemente for $75 million.

Former Allergan Pharmaceuticals Chief Executive Gavin S. Herbert, who acquired the property and surrounding acreage from Nixon in the 1980s, is selling the home after more than three decades of ownership. Rob Giem of Hom Sotheby’s International Realty is the listing agent.

Dubbed La Casa Pacifica by the former president, the sprawling estate occupies the rearmost location within a private, guard-gated enclave, an isolated bluff that overlooks the ocean.

Within the 5.45-acre grounds is a hacienda-style main residence, a two-bedroom guesthouse, multiple staff residences and offices, a greenhouse, a pool, a tennis court, formal gardens and large expanses of grass.

The main house, built for Hamilton Cotton in the 1920s, spans about 9,000 square feet with tile and hardwood flooring, arched doorways and detailed groin-vaulted ceilings. Among features is an 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 center courtyard with a tiled fountain.

Acquired for Nixon’s use in 1969, the estate has played host to a long line of world leaders including Japanese Premier Eisaku Sato, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu and former President Lyndon B. Johnson, who spent his 61st birthday at the Western White House. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev’s famous trip to the grounds in the summer of 1973 came as the Watergate scandal began to unfold.

Among celebrity visitors to the property were Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, Red Skelton, Cesar Romero and the Rev. Billy Graham.

Nixon was not the first president to set foot on the property, however. That honor goes to Franklin D. Roosevelt, who once played poker at the home as a guest of the original owner.

Twitter: @NJLeitereg