You Might Also Like
-
Page
2018 Winning Essay The Hugh S. Sidey Scholarship
“The 150-year era of the great steel plow, central instrument of American abundance and strength, is ending,” wrote Hugh Sidey in 1992. At face value, a story about revolution in farming practices has nothing to teach a journalist about reporting on the presidency, but when it is considered in the scope of Sidey’s work and career, “Revolution on the Farm” highlights
-
Page
Recent Book Releases
Official Residences Around the World by Abby Clouse-Radigan This survey of the official residences and offices of some fifty nations around the world represents nearly one thousand years of building and renovating. Who lives in these residences? What were their original purposes and how have they been adapted for modern use? How do they project and preserve each nation's heritage?
-
Page
About Our Authors
Authors JAMES ARCHER ABBOTT is currently the executive director at Wright’s Ferry Mansion in Columbia, Pennsylvania. Abbott has served as director of Johns Hopkins University’s Evergreen Museum & Library, curator of American and European decorative arts for the Baltimore Museum of Art, and curator and educator for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Boscobel House and Gardens, and Hist
-
Page
Building the President's House
Pierre Charles L'Enfant selected the site for the President's House and proposed a grand palace four times larger than the house that was built. L'Enfant planned for the President's House and the Capitol to be the cardinal points of his 1791 plan for Washington city in the District of Columbia.L'Enfant did not cooperate with the president's commissioners; and was dismissed.
-
Page
State Dining Room
The State Dining Room, which now seats as many as 140 guests, was originally much smaller and served at various times as a drawing room, office, and Cabinet Room. Today's State Dining Room incorporates the space that President Thomas Jefferson used as a private office. Tall and generously proportioned, the room had fireplaces on the east and west and was flooded
-
Page
The East Room
Ascending from the Ground Floor Corridor, a marble stairway leads the White House visitor to the State Floor level. Off the landing to the right is the East Room. The largest of the State Rooms, it was designed by James Hoban and George Washington to be a "Public Audience Room." Second President John Adams and his wife First Lady Abigail
-
Page
The Ground Floor
The white marble walls of the Ground Floor corridor complement the vaulted ceiling arching gracefully overhead. Architect James Hoban installed the groin vaulting around 1793. Its sturdy construction withstood the fire of 1814. The vaulted ceiling seen today is a copy of the original vaulting built during the Truman Renovation between 1948 and 1952. One of the house's finest architectural elements, this ceiling was
-
Page
The Red Room
Benjamin Henry Latrobe's 1803 drawing of the State Floor indicates that the Red Room served as "the President's Antechamber" for the President's office and Cabinet Room next door. During the James Madison administration, the room became First Lady Dolley Madison's famous salon. A sunflower yellow, not red, dominated the room's decor. Visitors were received at her famous Wednesday night receptions in
-
Page
James Hoban: Architect of the White House
James Hoban's life is a memorable Irish-American success story. In his boyhood he learned the craft of carpenter and wheelwright, and became an architect by profession and a builder by trade. Hoban came to America with high ambitions, and designed and erected many buildings; but what keeps his name alive today arises from one special commission - he was the
-
Page
Life & Work in Charleston, S.C.
When James Hoban set sail for America, and where he landed, are not certain. By 1785, Hoban was advertising his services in a Philadelphia newspaper: "Any gentleman who wishes to build in an elegant style, may hear of a person properly calculated for that purpose who can execute the Joining and Carpenter's business in the modern taste. James Hoban." Two years
-
Page
Public Architect and Developer
After 1802, James Hoban concentrated on his successful business partnership with Pierce Purcell in Washington, distancing himself from the politics and the lower pay of public improvement projects. Except for the White House, few of Hoban's buildings still stand. He also superintended the Capitol, completing the North Wing by 1800, when the seat of government moved to Washington.Hoban became the superintendent
-
Page
Conservation of the White House Collection
Care of any museum collection includes the conservation of objects to correct or stabilize deterioration from age or exhibition. Although the White House is an accredited historic house museum, it does not provide the traditional exhibition setting of objects under glass or behind ropes at all times. As the official residence of the president of the United States, objects from