Collection "The President's Own"
On July 11, 1798, President John Adams approved legislation that officially brought "The President's Own" United States Marine Band into being, making...
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Tin Pan Alley and the American musical theater were in a great state of verve and vitality in the period between the two world wars, and White House guests lists of the time reflected this. In 1924 President Coolidge invited legendary showman, Al Jolson to help him launch an election campaign at a White House pancake breakfast. After the breakfast, forty stars from stage and screen, including John Drew, the Dolly Sisters, Charlotte Greenwood and Ray Miller’s Jazz Band, staged impromptu entertainment on the White House lawns. Both first ladies, Florence Harding and Grace Coolidge, were especially interested in classical music. Mrs. Harding showed her encouragement of music in young people by inviting eleven-year-old concert pianist, Shura Cherkassy, to present a recital, and through the invitation of Grace Coolidge, Sergei Rachmaninoff played in the White House on three separate occasions.
Grace and Calvin Coolidge greet Hollywood stars at the White House in 1924.
On July 11, 1798, President John Adams approved legislation that officially brought "The President's Own" United States Marine Band into being, making...
It was President Thomas Jefferson who first established the traditions of a Fourth of July celebration at the White House....
Biographies & Portraits
Music is often called the universal language. It has been known to break down barriers and shape historic events in...
The White House observance of Christmas before the twentieth century was not an official event. First families decorated the house...
Biographies & Portraits
Presidents have found different ways to escape the pressures and politics of the position. For early leaders, it was a...
A dinner at the White House has always had significance beyond the merely gastronomical. The elegance of the State Dining...
The White House Historical Association and the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project present this collaboration in an effort to open a...
President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s advocacy for the arts endures as a vital part of their...
No sport is more closely tied to the American presidency than baseball. One of Washington’s first baseball fields was lo...
Daughter of the richest man in a small town, Florence Mabel Kling was born in Marion, Ohio, in 1860, and grew...