Collection First Children
What was it like to grow up in a home where some of the most important political decisions are being...
Main Content
First families took their private meals in the Family Dining Room adjacent to the State Dining Room. The room’s décor changed frequently, and it was photographed for the first time in 1889 and in 1891 after electricity was installed.
Library of CongressThe Family Dining Room, prior to 1902.
White House CollectionThe Family Dining Room during the Theodore Roosevelt administration shown with the Colonial Revival furnishings made for the room in 1902.
White House Collection/White House Historical AssociationThe Family Dining Room after the Truman Renovation, 1952.
Library of CongressThe Family Dining Room on the State Floor in furnished with American pieces of the Federal period. Over the sideboard is a portrait of President John Tyler by George P. A. Healy.
White House Historical AssociationThe Family Dining Room, Kennedy Administration, 1963.
The White House Historical AssociationThe Family Dining Room, Nixon Administration, 1971.
The White House Historical AssociationThe Family Dining Room, Reagan Administration, 1987.
The White House Historical AssociationThe Federal period furnishings in the Family Dining Room in 1999 included a rare American silver plateau made in New York City by John W. Forbes.
The White House Historical AssociationThis 2010 color photograph by Peter Vitale depicts the Family Dining Room as it appeared during the early years of the administration of President Barack Obama. Hanging on the wall are Théobald Chartran's portrait of Edith Roosevelt and William Merritt Chase's late 19th-early 20th century painting, Lettuce and Tomatoes.
White House Historical AssociationThe Family Dining Room after the 2015 refurbishment.
The White House Historical AssociationThe carpet from the Family Dining Room after the 2015 refurbishment.
The White House Historical AssociationThe Family Dining Room after the 2015 refurbishment.
The White House Historical AssociationThe Family Dining Room after the 2015 refurbishment.
The White House Historical AssociationThe Family Dining Room after the 2015 refurbishment; Rauchenberg's Early Bloomer [Anagram (A Pun)], 1998.
The White House Historical AssociationAbout this Gallery
The Family Dining Room on the State Floor of the White House today is used primarily for smaller formal dinners and working lunches. First families have traditionally dined in the Family Dining Room since about 1825 when President John Quincy Adams and First Lady Louisa Catherine Adams began to take their meals there. Designated the “small dining room” or “private dining room,” presidents and their families historically took all of their meals here before 1962. With the support of the White House Historical Association, the Family Dining Room was refurbished in 2015 to showcase modern art and design.
What was it like to grow up in a home where some of the most important political decisions are being...
Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament....
A dinner at the White House has always had significance beyond the gastronomical delights. The elegance of the State Dining...
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the only army general elected president in the twentieth century. His achievements were many — he was an...
Biographies & Portraits
Biographies & Portraits
President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s advocacy for the arts endures as a vital part of th...
President Harry S. Truman was close to his friends and associates, had a grin for strangers, but could be less...
At age 43, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the youngest person ever elected to the presidency. Before his vibrant presidency was cut...
Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament....
The White House Historical Association and the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project present this collaboration in an effort to open a...
Presidents have found different ways to escape the pressures and politics of the position. For early leaders, it was a...