Construction of the library began in 1988, and the center was dedicated on November 4, 1991. The dedication ceremonies were the first time in United States history that five United States Presidents gathered together in the same place: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan himself, and George H. W. Bush. Six First Ladies also attended: Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, and Barbara Bush. Only Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis did not attend; but, her children Caroline Kennedy-Schlossberg and John F. Kennedy Jr. were in attendance along with Luci Johnson Turpin, younger daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson and descendants of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Like all presidential libraries since that of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Reagan Library was built entirely with private donations, at a cost of $60 million (equivalent to $130 million in 2013.

A full-scale replica of the Oval Office—a feature of most presidential libraries—is a prominent feature of this museum. Among the items Reagan kept on his desk was a 16 inches copy of a bronze statue of "Old Bill Williams", by B. R. Pettit; Williams was a renowned mountain man of Arizona. Other parts of the exhibit focus on Reagan's ranch, the presidential retreat Camp David, life in the White House, and First Lady Nancy Reagan.