SAN CLEMENTE

A painstakingly detailed model of the Western White House, former President Richard M. Nixon’s San Clemente home throughout most of the 1960s and ‘70s, serves as the centerpiece for the Heritage of San Clemente, a local museum dedicated to the history and culture of the “Spanish Village by the Sea.”

“Most visitors say, ‘We’re here to see the Nixon Library.’ Well, we don’t have it,” Executive Director and San Clemente City Councilman G. Wayne Eggleston said. “Then they’ll say, ‘Well, we want to see the Western White House.’ Well, you can’t see it, someone else bought it.”

Two years after being founded, the center’s nonprofit Heritage of San Clemente Foundation has 500 members; the center itself draws around 100 visitors a day throughout most of the year.

“To build up something from nothing, a dream to 500 members in just two years, is incredible,” he said. “It’s a passion you have. Probably more passion than good common sense.”