The West Wing: 1950-1974 - Photo 1

This photograph by Cecil Stoughton shows President John F. Kennedy in the Cabinet Room with the executive committee of the National Security Council during the Cuban Missile Crisis, which was a thirteen day period in October 1962 when Cold War tensions escalated to the brink of nuclear war over Soviet missile deployment in Cuba. Seated at table (clockwise from bottom left): Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Paul H. Nitze; acting Director of the United States Information Agency Donald M. Wilson; speechwriter and Special Counsel to the president, Theodore C. Sorensen; Special Assistant to the President for National Security McGeorge Bundy; Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Llewellyn Thompson; Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency William C. Foster; Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John A. McCone; Under Secretary of State George W. Ball; Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara; Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell L. Gilpatric; and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy is standing at far left, President Kennedy is on the right, looking down, with hands on table, and Secretary of State Dean Rusk stand at far right. Executive Secretary of the National Security Council Bromley K. Smith is sitting against the wall near the bookcase.

Photographer: Cecil Stoughton
Date of Work: October 29, 1962
Credit: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/NARA

Collection
Preservation of the White House

In the 1960s, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy oversaw the task of restoring the White House interiors and thus founded the White House Historical Association to enhance the understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of the Executive Mansion. As a part of our mission, the Association provides financial support for acquisitions, refurbishing projects, and preservation initiatives of the White House, which involves collaboration
Collection
State Dinners

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. In this collection, explore the history of
Collection
Dining in the Executive Mansion

A dinner at the White House has always had significance beyond the gastronomical delights. The elegance of the State Dining Room and the intimacy of the Family Dining Room set the stage for the politics and diplomacy that takes place between courses. In this collection, learn how the style of each room has evolved with its purpose, and how the
Page
Michelle Obama Celebrates with the American People

First Lady Michelle Obama began her White House Christmas planning with a very simple idea: to include as many people, in as many places, in as many ways as possible.In 2009, Mrs. Obama asked 60 local community groups from around the nation to "Reflect, Rejoice, Renew," and redecorate 800 ornaments from previous White House administrations. The ornaments paid tribute to favorite local
Page
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. Today's State Dining Room incorporates the space that President Thomas Jefferson used as a private office. Tall and generously proportioned, the room had fireplaces on the east and west and was flooded
Page
The Blue Room

The Blue Room with the Yellow Oval Room above and the Diplomatic Reception Room below it, form the most elegant space of James Hoban's plans for the White House. For the south wall of the Blue Room, he designed French doors flanked by long windows. An oval portico with curving stairs that descended to the South Lawn was included in
Page
The East Room

Ascending from the Ground Floor Corridor, a marble stairway leads the White House visitor to the State Floor level. Off the landing to the right is the East Room. The largest of the State Rooms, it was designed by James Hoban and George Washington to be a "Public Audience Room." Second President John Adams and his wife First Lady Abigail
Page
The Entrance Hall

The Cross Hall and large Entrance Hall are at the center of the original plan by James Hoban for the State Floor of the White House. The basic floor plan has not been altered substantially, although modifications have been made to the design and placement of the principle staircases. The plan is arranged so that the Cross Hall connects all
Page
The Green Room

James Hoban, the original architect of the President's House, intended that the space now called the "Green Room" be used as a "Common Dining Room." An 1801 inventory revealed that first residents President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams actually used it as a guest bedchamber. However, the next chief executive, Thomas Jefferson, did serve meals in this room. Jefferson
Page
The Red Room

Benjamin Henry Latrobe's 1803 drawing of the State Floor indicates that the Red Room served as "the President's Antechamber" for the President's office and Cabinet Room next door. During the James Madison administration, the room became First Lady Dolley Madison's famous salon. A sunflower yellow, not red, dominated the room's decor. Visitors were received at her famous Wednesday night receptions in
Page
The Second Floor

When John Adams first occupied the President's House in 1800, the Second Floor was generally reserved for private and family use. President Adams kept a small office adjacent to his bedroom on the southwest corner of the house, but other early presidents chose to work in rooms on the State Floor. Around 1825, the two rooms that we now call the Lincoln
Page
Conservation of the White House Collection

Care of any museum collection includes the conservation of objects to correct or stabilize deterioration from age or exhibition. Although the White House is an accredited historic house museum, it does not provide the traditional exhibition setting of objects under glass or behind ropes at all times. As the official residence of the president of the United States, objects from