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Decorative Arts in the White House Symposium Schedule
October 1, 20209:00-9:15amWelcome and Overview Stewart D. McLaurin, President, White House Historical AssociationFrederick J. Ryan Jr., Chairman, Board of Directors, White House Historical Association Katharine P. Booth, Vice Chairwoman, Board of Trustees, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library9:15-10:00amCrafting American TasteIntroduced by Colleen Shogan, Senior Vice President and Director of the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History,
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The Decorative Arts in the White House Symposium Scholarly Contributors
James Archer AbbottJames Archer Abbott currently serves as the Executive Director of the Lewes Historical Society in Lewes, Delaware. A graduate of Vassar College and the State University of New York/FIT, he has previously served as a museum director and/or curator for Johns Hopkins University’s Evergreen Museum & Library, the Baltimore Museum of Art, Boscobel House and Ga
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Slavery and the White House
Construction on the President’s House began in 1792. The decision to place the capital on land ceded by two slave states—Virginia and Maryland—ultimately influenced the acquisition of laborers to construct its public buildings. The District of Columbia commissioners, charged by Congress with building the new city under the direction of the president, initially planned to import workers from Europe
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Did Slaves Build the White House?
Construction on the President's House began in 1792 in Washington, D.C., a new capital situated in sparsely settled region far from a major population center. The decision to place the capital on land ceded by two pro-slavery states-Virginia and Maryland-ultimately influenced the acquisition of laborers to construct its public buildings. The D.C. commissioners, charged by Congress with building the
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Decorating the White House
Congress has always been tasked with appropriating funds for the care, repair, refurnishing and maintenance of the White House and its grounds. Each incoming president has found furnishings that were worn out and in need of replacement due to everyday wear and tear. Congress approved funds enabling a new president to carry out structural improvements and purchase new furnishings from
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National History Day Resources
The 2024 National History Day (NHD) theme is Turning Points in History. The White House Historical Association offers a variety of resources to assist students working on NHD projects.
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Building the President's House
Pierre Charles L'Enfant selected the site for the President's House and proposed a grand palace four times larger than the house that was built. L'Enfant planned for the President's House and the Capitol to be the cardinal points of his 1791 plan for Washington city in the District of Columbia.L'Enfant did not cooperate with the president's commissioners; and was dismissed.
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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 Blue Room
The Blue Room with the Yellow Oval Room above and the Diplomatic Reception Room below it, form the most elegant space of James Hoban's plans for the White House. For the south wall of the Blue Room, he designed French doors flanked by long windows. An oval portico with curving stairs that descended to the South Lawn was included in
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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