Presidential House Visit: Where in the World is Richard Milhous Nixon?

For those of you who wondered what Richard Nixon
would look like in the Carmen Sandiego hat

Forget Carmen Sandiego- Richard Milhous Nixon has given me more trouble than a globetrotting master thief.

Since I lack the funds to get a flight to California, his birthplace in Yorba Linda, California wasn't an option, so I decided to get creative. I looked up the various places where he lived and discovered he had a house in Saddle River, New Jersey, less than two hours away. I read some rumblings about its imminent demolition, but decided it was close enough to give it a shot.

Site of the Nixon Saddle River residence

I got hopeful as I entered the neighborhood of mansions, but as I drove up to the address, I realized with dismay the reports were indeed true. There was no trace of the house, only a plot of trees between mansions with some abandoned building materials. I was surprised not only by how eerie it was, but how sad it made me. I wouldn't characterize myself as Nixon's biggest fan, but it seemed wrong that no one made a greater effort to save the house.

I was also sad because the lack of house meant I still had a Nixon sized hole in my checklist. Luckily, I had found another New Jersey Nixon residence only fifteen minutes away in Park Ridge. Unfortunately, I never even got to pull up to that house, since it was in a gated community. It turns out it's actually really difficult to sweet-talk your way into a private neighborhood for the obscenely wealthy. 

I was getting discouraged at this point, but faint heart never won fair lady-- or in this case, dead politician's former residence. After a bit more snooping around the internet I found two addresses of houses the Nixons lived in while they were in Washington, both still privately owned.

The house the Nixons resided in during the 1950s

Residence of the Nixon family in the 1960s

Driving up to the first house in Washington, DC, I said a silent prayer it hadn't been destroyed in a freak lightning storm. Happily, it was not only still standing, it looked to be in excellent shape. The next house was also well cared for and quite beautiful. All of the houses were tucked away in quiet neighborhoods where the Nixons would be afforded some measure of privacy. 

Driving away, I realized with no small amount of glee that I had not been defeated by Richard Nixon.