On July 20th, 1969 the astronauts of Apollo XI became the first humans to step foot on the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had the privilege of actually placing feet on the lunar surface while Michael Collins commanded the lunar module while in orbit. In honor of their historic accomplishment President Nixon hosted a dinner at the Century Plaza Hotel just a few weeks following their return. On August 13, 1969 the astronauts and their significant others gathered in Los Angeles, CA with top NASA and state officials and other VIP’s to celebrate Apollo XI. The collection presented here contains guest lists, photographs, and ephemera carefully collected and preserved over the years with direct assistance of Sanford Fox, former Chief Officer for the Social Affairs department during the Nixon Administration. Sandy was kind enough to provide access to official guest lists for high-resolution scans and also shared his own original hand-written diagrams and maps used during the early stages of planning for the event. With NASA’s recent announcement of a return trip to the moon (Artemis) the owner of this “package” has decided to share the collection and make it available to the public for the first time. The collection has the following components:

NASA “Log of Apollo 11”, 12 pages of photographs and text chronicling the days and events of the mission.

Official “Accept & Regret” guest list, 37 pages of high resolution scans from original copy showing complete registry of all individuals invited to the dinner along with a note (“a” or “r”) indicating whether or not they were in attendance; with hand-written notes from Sanford Fox. Full-color scans were sensitive enough to capture the highlighting, different color inks, and even the rust from the clips and staples.

Blank table seating guide showing layout of event.

Blank “Century Plaza” Hotel card.

Blank hotel entry pass.

Presidential Party Apollo XI Dinner parking pass.

“Century Plaza” hotel guest notice informing the residents of extra security and procedures in place to “protect our heads of state”.

Original hand-written seating chart showing final seating arrangements for the President and Mrs. Nixon along with the astronauts and their significant others (drawn by Sandy Fox).

Original seating diagram showing the positions of tables, written in pencil and traced using pennies as place-savers (also in the hand of Sandy Fox). Diagram on thin tissue paper and in Very Good- condition with Light+ age toning, creasing, and a few closed partial tears.

Four 8” x 10” color photographs (high-resolution scans from Library of Congress) capturing President Nixon with the astronauts before and during ceremony.

One 14” x 10” color photograph (C1830-02) providing a general overview of the event, the guests and the Bands of the Armed Forces.

Two magazine article photographs of ceremony and parade.

One copy of typed letter written by Robert Goddard to Ruth Johnston after the event (8/20/1969) expressing gratitude for the “most prestigious and beautiful occasion I have ever attended”.

Official NASA APOLLO XI astronaut stamp collector’s sheet (“The flight to the moon gave all of us a moment of history we will never forget. With the issue of a stamp printed from a die carried to the moon and back, I thought this memento would provide a lasting reminder of the spirit of Apollo.” Richard Nixon).

One typed memo on White House letterhead (9/9/1969).

Apollo news publications,18 pages (photocopy).

“Dinner at the Century Plaza Hotel” guest registry, 27 pages of high-resolution scans showing all guests present at the event. DE Consignment.