Pat Nixon Statue
at the Cerritos Senior Center
Updated December 23, 2009
The Cerritos City Council voted in April 1996 to install a bronze statue of former First Lady Patricia Nixon at the site of her childhood home as a tribute to our City's most notable former resident. It is one of the first life-size, full-body statues ever created in the image of a United States First Lady.
The location of the statue has both historical and sentimental significance. Pat Nixon lived in a modest home on the corner of South Street and Ely Avenue from 1913 to 1930. The City bought the site from Pat Nixon's brother in 1967, later dedicating the land as a park and maintaining her childhood home as a point of interest. In 1978, the home was destroyed by fire and in 1991 the City selected the grounds as the site for the Cerritos Senior Center at Pat Nixon Park, which opened in 1994.
East Coast artist Ivan Schwartz of Studio EIS was selected by the City Council to create the statue. A talented sculptor, Mr. Schwartz is known for his life-size statues of world leaders on display at the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda.
The statue was dedicated on March 1, 1997. Mrs. Nixon is depicted at the age of 55, standing in the Senior Center's rose garden with her hands resting behind her back.
