The Reagan Tomb

Above, the Reagan tomb at the Reagan Library. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Not too long after former President Ronald Reagan was entombed at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California, my mom, daughter Amber and I paid a visit to the Library and tomb.

While there, my mom and I had a "vigorous discussion" on how the President was interred (much to the amusement of Amber). I had a good idea on how by looking at the tomb's construction. Turns out I was right.

An article appeared by a worker involved in the interment of Reagan and gave details on how the tomb was designed. It is an interesting design.

What you see is the top portion of the tomb. Most of it is below it at about seven feet. To access the tomb's door, a concrete walkway has to be torn out and ground has to be excavated away.

When Reagan was entombed, his casket was placed in an oversized burial vault. It was oversized not because Reagan was a big man, it was due to the very ornate casket. The vault with the casket inside was difficult to move into the tomb due to the weight. But, the workers came up with a method of getting the vault inside and positioned: ice. They covered the floor with crushed ice and it made it easier to move the vault in and position it. It was pushed on top of the ice.

After this was done, the door was re-sealed and the earth was bulldozed back to cover it up and a new concrete walkway was installed.

There's room inside the tomb for two, as Nancy Reagan will be entombed inside later this week.