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White House Decorative Arts in the 1810s
In 1809, James and Dolley Madison moved into the nearly completed President’s House that contained worn furnishings from past administrations. Mrs. Madison employed Surveyor of Public Buildings Benjamin H. Latrobe to refurbish the State Floor, and he custom-designed furniture for the Oval Room. On August 24, 1814, British forces invaded Washington, D.C. and set fire to the public buildings. The conflagration de
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Electricity Use Expands
By the 1920s electric vacuum cleaners were cleaning the White House carpets, and an electric refrigerator was humming in the kitchen. Warren G. Harding had the house's first radio set installed in his study in 1922 on the second floor. To further advance the use of electricity, Calvin Coolidge celebrated the holiday season of 1923 by lighting the first National Christmas Tree
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INTRODUCTION: Memoirs of the First White House Social Secretary Isabella Hagner
Isabella Hagner James, known to all as Belle, was the only daughter of Dr. Charles Evelyn Hagner and Isabella Wynn Davis. Her parents were “cave-dwellers,” as old Washingtonians styled themselves, and Belle’s reminiscences of her early life vividly resurrect the mores of late nineteenth-century Washington.1 They also recount vicissitudes of fortune that rival the plots of Edith Wharton or Henry
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Installing White House Conveniences
The Second Floor quarters occupied by President Abraham Lincoln and his family were used much as they had been during the 1850s. The Lincolns also had the added convenience of cold running water for washstands in their rooms. During this time the gas system was also expanded, and a new spring-bell system enabled Lincoln to signal the reception room and
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Installing a White House Heating System
Installation of a gravity hot-air heating system began in the spring of 1840. The system used a self-contained furnace with an inner firebox of iron enclosed by a shell of plastered brick where the air was warmed. Ducts ran from both the outer shell and the furnace room itself (oval room in the basement, now the Diplomatic Reception Room) and extended
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James Hoban's White House Reconstruction
Considering that it had initially taken nearly ten years to build the White House, it was remarkable that James Hoban was able to direct a reconstruction of the house (after the British torched the house in 1814) in slightly less than three years. This was possible in part because some of the stone walls could be reused, but the main reason
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Jefferson's White House Upgrades
Thomas Jefferson gave orders for the demolition of the outdoor wooden privy and had two water closets installed upstairs, one on each end of the house. He also had a wine cellar built just west of the house and called it an "ice house." Jefferson made changes to many of the fireplaces, including equipping the kitchen with its first iron
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President Garfield's White House Upgrades
On February 12, 1880, a wooden crate arrived at the White House containing a new contrivance which would make an immediate impact on the Rutherford B. Hayes administration: a Fairbanks & Company Improved Number Two Typewriter.From that time on presidential letters began to appear in ragged little lines of type, instead of a clerks' fancy penmanship. A year later an experimental
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Reports from the White House Easter Egg Roll
The annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House has been a regular public event since 1878 and a subject of interest to Americans across the country.Reports from White House Easter Egg Rolls Past:"The White House Lawn" | The Washington Post, April 23, 1889 "On the broad portico of the southern entrance stood the president of the United States holding in his
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Ushers and Stewards Since 1800
The White House Usher’s Office is one of the most singular working spaces in the world, with a tradition that parallels that of the presidents themselves. The actual quarters, adjacent to the Entrance Hall, serve as a platform from which to witness history. Remarkably few have had the distinct privilege of serving in this office, and the experience is li
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White House Decorative Arts in the 1820s
Reconstruction and refurbishing of the burned President's House continued into the 1820s. To refurnish the large house, President James Monroe exceeded funds appropriated by Congress and had even sold the government some of his own pieces to fill the rooms. He employed local craftsmen for some items, but imported most of the furniture from France. Few Americans had seen such
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White House Decorative Arts in the 1830s
Andrew Jackson’s 1829 inaugural reception drew throngs of supporters to the President’s House. Their exuberant descent on the house left a wake of broken china and soiled seat cushions. A $14,000 appropriation was used to repair and refurbish the interior and replace the broken china and glassware. Additional funds were acquired to finish and furnish the East Room with blue upho