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The 2011 White House Christmas ornament celebrates the life and presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, the twenty-sixth president of the United States (1901–1909), and his family and highlights the return of children to the White House after a long period of absence. With the arrival of the Roosevelt’s, six children would call the White House “home” and filled it with excitement and life as
The 2007 White House Christmas ornament celebrates the first administration of Grover Cleveland, the 22nd (1885-1889) and 24th (1893-1897) president of the United States. The first Democrat to become president in 24 years, he was the only chief executive to leave the White House and return for a second term four years later. The 49 year old bachelor was also the only president
The 2008 White House Christmas ornament honoring the presidency of Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893), the twenty-third president of the United States, was inspired by the Harrison family’s Victorian Christmas tree, the first documented tree to decorate the President’s House. The ornament, the 28th in a series started by the White House Historical Association in 1981, presents the White House as a fami
Every year since 1981 the White House Historical Association has created a Christmas ornament honoring past presidents of the United States, beginning with George Washington, and reflecting on the history and events that have taken place in the President’s House.The tradition continues with the 2009 White House Christmas ornament celebrating the second administration of President Grover Cleveland (1893-1897) when the fi
The White House Historical Association celebrates the presidency of William McKinley (1897-1901), the twenty-fifth president of the United States, with the release of its 30th commemorative ornament. The last Civil War veteran to serve as president, McKinley was idolized by the American people during his presidency, tragically cut short by an assassin’s bullets six months into his second term. Th
The exhibition Something of Splendor: Decorative Arts from the White House, honoring the 50th anniversary of the White House Historical Association, opens at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. tomorrow (October 1, 2011–May 6, 2012). It is amazing to realize that before 1961 Congress did not appropriate funds to maintain an art or decorative arts collection at the exec
Since Mrs. Kennedy began efforts to restore the historic integrity to the public rooms of the White House in 1961, every First Lady has taken an active interest in and supported the work of the White House Historical Association. Join us as we enter our second half century of sharing the rich history of the White House with the people of
“It is not difficult to see a certain parallel presidents might sense between their own specified time on stage as head of state and the slice of life encapsulated in the duration of a play,” said William Seale, editor of White House History. “Part of being president is a performance, in which is conveyed, inescapably, a message; the White House is the
The White House Historical Association has released Away from the White House: Presidential Escapes, Retreats, and Vacations. Author Lawrence L. Knutson presents an in-depth history of the presidential time spent “away from the White House.” Through 37 chapters profusely illustrated with hundreds of period images and photographs, we witness the president escaping by horseback, steamboat, railroad, automobile, and ultimately Air Force One,