The Western White House

The picturesque Spanish Colonial mansion known as Richard Nixon’s "Western White House" in San Clemente, California, has gotten a $6 million price cut.

The sprawling oceanfront estate where the former Republican president spent his downtime and occasionally hosted foreign dignitaries first hit the market nearly four years ago asking $75 million. It has since had several rounds of price changes, including the latest discount. It’s now asking $57.5 million, according to a listing from agent Linda May of Hilton & Hyland.

The bluffside compound, also known as La Casa Pacifica, spans 450 feet of beach, a sandy stretch where paparazzi often snapped Nixon and his wife walking their dogs, and comes with a free-standing entertainment pavilion, a two-bedroom guest house and separate staff quarters.

At the centre of the walled 5.5-acre estate is a single-story main mansion that dates to 1927. That structure has undergone a modern restoration and features details like painted ceilings, exposed beams and panoramic views of the water.

Nixon sometimes used the stunning, isolated setting for diplomatic purposes. In 1973, he hosted Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev at the estate as part of efforts to reopen dialogue with the Soviet Union.

He also held fundraising events at the San Clemente home, attracting figures like Ronald Reagan and Frank Sinatra, according to archives on Getty Images.

Nixon unloaded the property in the 1980s, several years after he resigned from the presidency in disgrace following the Watergate scandal—selling it to a pharmaceuticals executive.