The Working White House: Dumbwaiter
To ensure the privacy of his conversations during dinner, President Thomas Jefferson installed a revolving dumbwaiter between the walls of the Porter’s Lodge (now the Chief Usher’s Office) and the Public Dining Room (now the Family Dining Room). One of Jefferson’s frequent dinner guests, Senator Thomas Worthington, installed a similar dumbwaiter (shown here) in his home, Adena, near Chillicothe, Ohio. Benjamin H. Latrobe, superintendent of public buildings under Jefferson and Adena’s architect, may have suggested the dumbwaiter to Worthington.
- Credit
- Ohio Historical Society
