1953 National Christmas Tree Lighting

In this photograph, National Park Service photographer Abbie Rowe captures President Dwight Eisenhower at the National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony taken December, 24, 1953. The National Tree lighting ceremony started in 1923 during the Coolidge administration and has become a treasured tradition in Washington, D.C. Rowe was a prolific photographer, providing extensive coverage of the presidency from the Franklin D. Roosevelt through the Lyndon B. Johnson administrations.