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    Our Mission: Supporting White House Preservation

    The White House Historical Association continued its mission of supporting the preservation of State and public rooms of the White House through its funding of the refurbishment of the State Dining Room and Family Dining Room — a multi-year process that was completed in 2015.In the State Dining Room, the Association’s support included the repainting and glazing of the walls, new

  • Backgrounder

    History of State Dinners at the White House

    State Dinners at the White House have been a tradition for more than a hundred years and are examples of goodwill and influence between the United States and other nations.

  • Timeline

    Italian State Dinners at the White House

    The first State Dinner for an Italian head of state was in January of 1964. It was for Italian President Antonio Segni and was hosted by President Lyndon Baines Johnson.

  • Timeline

    French State Dinners at the White House

    From the first French State Dinner for Prime Minister Pierre Laval by President Herbert Hoover to more recent French State Dinners, the United States and France continue to maintain their strong bond.

  • Timeline

    Kids' State Dinner

    On February 9, 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama announced a nationwide campaign called Let’s Move! to mobilize public and private sector resources to reach the goal to confront and resolve the challenge of childhood obesity. In support of Let’s Move!, The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge and Kids’ State Dinner invites a parent or guardian to work with their child ages 8-12 to cre

  • Timeline

    White House 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. Not until the Andrew Jackson administration was it called the “State Dining Room,” although previous Presidents had used it for formal dinners.

  • Scholarship

    Lincoln in the State Dining Room

    For over 75 years, George Peter Alexander Healy’s portrait of Abraham Lincoln has remained an important aesthetic element for the White House State Dining Room. Prominently displayed above the central mantel, millions of visitors have seen it during a public tour or on a visit to the White House. Lincoln’s placement in one of the largest rooms on the Stat

  • Article

    The White House State Dinner

    A state dinner honoring a visiting head of government or reigning monarch is one of the grandest and most glamorous of White House affairs. It is part of an official state visit and provides the president and first lady the opportunity to honor the visiting head of state and his or her spouse. It is a courtesy, an expression of

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    The State Dining Room

    The State Dining Room, which seats as many as 140 guests, was originally much smaller and served at various times as a drawing room, office, and Cabinet Room. Not until the middle of the nineteenth century was it referred to as the “State Dining Room,” although previous presidents had used it for formal dinners. Today’s State Dining Room incorporates the space

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