James Hoban, the original architect of the President's House, intended that the space now called the "Green Room" be used as a "Common Dining Room." An 1801 inventory revealed that first residents President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams actually used it as a guest bedchamber. However, the next chief executive, Thomas Jefferson, did serve meals in this room. Jefferson

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

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

When John Adams first occupied the President's House in 1800, the Second Floor was generally reserved for private and family use. President Adams kept a small office adjacent to his bedroom on the southwest corner of the house, but other early presidents chose to work in rooms on the State Floor. Around 1825, the two rooms that we now call the Lincoln

Read Digital Version

The first bath tubs in the White House were portable and made of tin; water was hauled in buckets. Running water was piped into the White House in 1833. Gaslighting, installed in the White House in 1848, replaced candles and oil lamps. A central heating system was installed in the White House in 1837 when many people still warmed themselves with a log

Families taking up residence at the White House since the Theodore Roosevelt administration have encountered the public's insatiable appetite for stories of everyday life in the Executive Mansion. With the common reproduction of photographs in newspapers and magazines by the early 20th century, presidential pets had to accept the same scrutiny as their distinguished masters. Whether providing companionship or humanizing

Read Digital EditionForeword, William SealeGetting It Right: The Embellished Obligations of Dolley Madison, Conover HuntRescue of the Papers of State During the Burning of Washington, Jessie Kratz"Articles of the Best Kind": James Monroe Furnishes the Rebuilt White House, Scott H. Harris and Jarod KearneyThe White House Collection: Reminders of 1814, Betty MonkmanA New Look for the Bicentennial, William G. AllmanHistory

In July 2012, the National Park Service’s White House Visitor Center began undergoing a $12.6 million revitalization through a public-private partnership with the White House Historical Association. The Association's donation of $12.5 million for the project and operating endowment helped make this extraordinary public resource possible. David M. Rubenstein's gift of $5 million to the Association for the White House Visitor Center ensures ce

The White House Historical Association continued its mission of supporting the preservation of State and public rooms of the White House through its funding of the refurbishment of the State Dining Room and Family Dining Room — a multi-year process that was completed in 2015.In the State Dining Room, the Association’s support included the repainting and glazing of the walls, new

Read Digital EditionForeword, William SealeJames Buchanan's White House Hostess: The Celebrated Harriet Lane, Pamela KilianGuest of the Nation: The Japanese Delegation to the Buchanan White House, Dallas FinnThe USRMCS Harriet Lane, Robert L. AndersonPresident Buchanan Greets a Guest of State: The Prince of Wales at the White House, Claire A. FaulknerThe White House Collection: From James Buchanan's Time, William G.