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Roland Mesnier - In Memoriam 1944–2022
Chef Roland Mesnier, longtime White House Executive Pastry Chef, mentor and teacher, prolific author, and sought-after speaker, passed away on August 26, 2022, following a short illness. He is predeceased by his wife, Martha, and survived by his son, George Mesnier.
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2013 Winning Essay The Hugh S. Sidey Scholarship
"They are not as tall or articulate as you think they should be. And they're not super people, so that is a bit of a letdown. Then you begin to understand, though, when you write about them as I have, how vital they are to the American system." These words were spoken by esteemed political journalist Hugh Sidey, in a
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2016 Winning Essay The Hugh S. Sidey Scholarship
Journalists, especially those covering the White House, have arguably the most important job in a functioning Democracy: holding public officials accountable and making any wrongdoing known. While the job descriptions for journalists may change to adapt to a growing industry, the responsibility to keep the public informed should stay the same. As Hugh Sidey said, the White House and the
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Italian State Dinners at the White House
January 14, 1964: State Dinner for Italian President Antonio Segni was hosted by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Featured entertainment included Robert Merrill of the Metropolitan Opera and the New Christy Minstrels. President Segni and his wife were given a silver box, engraved with maps of both countries and a sentence from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (“Italy remains to all, the land of dreams an
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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
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The United Kingdom and Ireland in the White House: A Conversation on Historical Perspectives
May 3, 2018 8:00 am - 9:00 am Registration and light breakfast in Decatur House Parlors9:00 am - 9:20 am Welcome and OverviewThe Hon. Frederick J. Ryan, Jr., Board Chair, White House Historical AssociationHis Excellency Sir Kim Darroch, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the United StatesHis Excellency Daniel Mulhall, Ambassador of Ireland to the United States9:20 am - 10:00 am First Keynote: 200 Years of the
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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?
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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
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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
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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
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The Entrance Hall
The Cross Hall and large Entrance Hall are at the center of the original plan by James Hoban for the State Floor of the White House. The basic floor plan has not been altered substantially, although modifications have been made to the design and placement of the principle staircases. The plan is arranged so that the Cross Hall connects all
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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