Page 247 - DK Eyewitness Travel Guides - The World's Must-See Places

-< Vermeil Room
This yellow room houses
seven paintings of first
ladies, including this
portrait of Eleanor
Roosevelt by Doug I as
C handor (1949) New York•
THE WHITE HOUSE,
WASHINGTON, D.C.

ATLANTIC
OCEAN
A lincoln Bedroom GULF OF
MEXICO
President Lincoln
used this room as his
Cabinet Room. It was
turned into a bed- lHEWAR OF 1812
room by President Tensions with Britain over restrictions on
Truman, who filled it trade and freedom of the seas began to
with furnishings from escalate during President James Madison's
the Lincoln era.
administration ( 1809-17) On June 18, 1812,
the US dedared war on Britain.ln August
1814, British troops reached Washington,
A Diplomatic Reception D.C., and officers of the Capitol fled, taking
This room is used to welcome the Declaration of Independence and the
friends and ambassadors. It is Constitution with them. On August 24, the
elegantly furmshed 1n the Federal
Penod style (17 90-182 0) British defeated the Americans at Bladensburg,
a suburb of Washington. They set fire to the
Capitol, the White House, the War Department
\ The East Terrace leads and the Treasury, but a night of heavy rain
to the East Wing prevented the city's destruction. The Treaty of
Ghent, which ended the war, was signed on
February 17, 1815.
East Room
This room is used for large
gatherings, such as dances lHE WESTWING
--ll--i4____,'1-f,o~-- and concerts. In 1902, the West Wing of the White House
was built by the architectural firm McKim,
State Dining Room>
Able to seat as many as Mead, and White for a total cost of $65,196.
140 people, the State Dining This wing (the West Terrace) houses the
Room was enlarged in
1902. A portrait of President Cabinet Room, where government officials
Abraham Lincoln, painted by convene with the president, and the Oval
George P. A. Healy in 1869, Office, where the president meets vi siting
hangs above the fireplace. heads of state. M<;~ny presidents have
personalized the Oval Office in some way
WHITE HOUSE ARCHITECTS President Clinton chose as his desk a table
Green Room
Another reception room, this was After selecting the site, George Washington held a given to President Rutherford B. Hayes by
first used as a guest room before design competition to find an architect to build the Britain's Queen Victoria in 1880.
being turned into a dining room residence where the US president would live. In 1792,
by Thomas Jefferson. Today, it James Hoban, an Irish-born architect, was chosen for lHE WHITE HOUSE INTERIOR
is used for small receptions and the task. The White House was built to Hoban's designs
predinner cocktails for guests at and he also reconstructed the building after the British The rooms in the White House are decorated in
state dinners. attack in 1B14.1n 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt period styles and filled with valuable antique
hired the New York architectural firm of McKim, furniture, china, and silverware. Hanging on
Mead, and White to check the structural condition
~BiueRoom of the building and refurbish areas as necessary. the walls are some of America's most treasured
paintings, including portraits of past presidents
The White House underwent further renovations
and refurbishments during the administrations of and first ladies. The room that served as the
presidents Truman and Kennedy.
Cabinet Room from 186 5 for 1 0 presidential
James Hoban, architect of the White House administrations (Treaty Room) was restored in
1961 and contains Victorian pieces bought by
President Grant The most central room on
KEY DATES the State Floor (Blue Room) was decorated in
1792 1800 1814 1902 1942 1817 in the American Empire style (1810-30)
by President Monroe. The same style was later
Construction begins on President Adams and his The British set fire to the The West Wing is built The E<b't Wing of the
the Executive Mansion w~e are the first to move Wh~e House during the to house the official White House is added, used by first lady Jackie Kennedy to redecorate
(renamed the White into the White House. War of 1812. offices of the president. as instructed by Franklin one of the reception rooms (Red Room) in
House in 1901). Its rooms include the D. Roose"elt, completing
Oval Office. the final structure. 1962. The Red Room has always been a
favorite of first ladies for receiving guests.