A Journey Through Reagan Country
No institution better invokes the memory and ideas of the 40th President than the Reagan Ranch Center, Young America’s Foundation’s West Coast hub located on lower State Street. In addition to the Foundation’s events at Rancho del Cielo, the facility—formerly the historic Neal Hotel which was renovated and reopened as the Reagan Ranch Center in 2006—hosts around 80 events for students, supporters, and guests every year with a staff dedicated to instilling students with the philosophy of freedom. The 22,000 square-foot building houses a two-story Reagan Ranch Exhibit Gallery that includes, among the memorabilia, his famous blue Jeep with the “Gipper” license plate and the rustic table on which Ronald Reagan signed the largest tax cut in American history at his ranch in 1981. The state-of-the-art displays also feature selections of his speeches, radio addresses, and interviews from the Reagan Ranch, and even an interactive bookcase—replicated after the bookshelf in the ranch home—that gives insight into the writers that shaped his thoughts. The Reagan Ranch Center Exhibit Gallery is open to the public every Tuesday and Thursday or by appointment. In addition to the institution dedicated to commemorating his lasting accomplishments, Reagan emerges in the shops and streets of Santa Barbara. A letter from the President adorns the wall of McConnell’s Ice Cream, thanking them for supplying the dessert for a barbecue at the Ranch, and his portrait can be found at Harry’s Plaza Café—where Secret Service agents would unwind. The late Fess Parker, a fellow actor and friend from the Hollywood years, constructed the sprawling DoubleTree Hotel on Cabrillo Boulevard and named one of the conference rooms in Reagan’s honor.
Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort boasts a special meeting space called “The Reagan Room” in the well-known hotel just steps from the Pacific Ocean.
Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort
Young America’s Foundation • Libertas
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