白宫文本

It is made of stone, marble and wood. A place of symbol and ceremony, where the work of democracy goes on and where momentous decisions are made. It is a home where the seasonal rites of family life take place and a living museum filled with fine-art treasures… and open to all. Reflecting the unfolding drama of our nation’s story – it is the White House.

“Welcome to the White House. Thank you for joining me in the White House library. As a former librarian, the library is one of my favorite rooms. It was not always this quiet and cozy, however. 200 years ago the library was used as the executive mansion’s laundry room. In 1902, Theodore Roosevelt renovated the ground floor of the White House and designated this room as a “Gentlemen’s Anteroom.” In 1935, Franklin Delano Roosevelt began using the room as a library. But it was Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy who gave the library its style when she refurbished it in 1962. She adorned the room with beautiful antiques, including Duncan Phyfe furniture and a chandelier from the home of American novelist James Fenimore Cooper. Today, the library is often used for teas, for interviews with the media, and for my favorite pastime – reading. With more than 2,700 volumes in the library, there’s always a story to be found and a piece of

America’s history to be discovered. Like the volumes on these shelves, this house reflects the great story of America. The White House is where history lives, and President and I are honored to share it with you.”

It was the leader of a new nation, George Washington, who selected the site in 1791 for what was to become known as the President’s House. In an open competition, Washington chose Irish-born architect James Hoban and hired him to

supervise the construction of the winning design. While Washington maintained great interest in the building’s progress, he died before it was completed. In 1800, when President John Adams and his wife Abigail finally moved in, they found a cool, damp building still under construction, with only a few rooms finished. Like democracy itself, the White House has always been a work in progress, evolving with the nation. President Thomas Jefferson, an amateur architect, made the first additions to the house in 1808, constructing colonnades on both sides of the house to conceal storage space and stables.

As the home of the president and a treasured symbol of our nation, the White House has endured moments of peril throughout its history. During the war of 1812, British troops set fire to the house, destroying the interior and its furnishings. But the charred walls defiantly remained. The house would be rebuilt, once again under the guidance of the architect James Hoban. Shortly after the rebuilding was completed, a new columned portico on the south was added during the terms of President James Monroe. Two administrations later, President Andrew Jackson built a second portico to the north as a means of providing shelter to arriving guests. As with every home, the White House has been modified for new technologies, adding running water in 1833 and gas lighting in 1848 … as well as increasingly sophisticated communications equipment, from the establishment of a telegraph room in 1866 to fiber-optic connection for the nation’s media today. While the historic structure of the White House is constantly adapted, there have been times when more than a slight modification was needed. When President Truman’s family piano broke through a floor joist in 1948, it became obvious that the building’s wood framework could no more support its weight. During the

more than 3 years of construction, the main floor of the White House were methodically dismantled. An entire bulldozer was disassembled and rebuilt inside the structure. Hundreds of workers excavated a new two-story basement, laid new foundations, and rebuilt the interior with modern materials. President Truman returned in 1952 and proudly showed the White House renovations on a live television broadcast. “Now this is the state dining room, and we can seat 102 people here.” It was the first time a mass audience got a look inside the White House. “Incidentally, it was the family dining room where the piano nearly came through the ceiling.” “It did come through.” In 1962, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy hosted a new tour of the White House, this time as part of a campaign to provide a sense of the nation’s history in the rooms and their furnishings. “It’s so important – the setting in which the presidency is presented to the world.”

Today the White House is situated on 18 acres of gardens and grounds and has 132 rooms. The ground floor includes the diplomatic reception room, library and a variety of other reception rooms, as well as the main kitchen. The first floor has the most famous rooms – the entrance hall, east room, green, blue and red rooms, and the state dining room. The second floor is the private residence of the president and the location of the Lincoln bedroom. The third floor has additional private rooms, including a solarium atop the south portico, a favorite of

presidents’ families. When Marine One, the president’s helicopter, lands on the south lawn, the President and the First Lady enter the house through the ground-floor diplomatic reception room. Ambassadors and foreign guests are often greeted here, but it was once the boiler and furnace room. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s fireside chat took place in this room. President Roosevelt:

“This is a talk on national security.” The nearby map room, now a sitting room, was used by President Roosevelt to track troop and ship movements during World War II. Security was so tight that his secret service agents had to wait outside the door. The ground-floor corridor was a damp basement cluttered with pipes and ducts before it’s renovation in 1902. On one end, it leads to the colonnade – the famed passageway linking the President’s house to the west wing offices. During the 19th century, administrative offices were located just beside the family quarters of the President. With working space and privacy for the family lacking, some suggested that the White House had outlived its usefulness and should simply be abandoned, while others created plans and architectural models for a dramatic enlargement of the building. Standing in the way of expansion of the west side of the house was a vast array of greenhouses. “Smash the

glasshouses,” ordered Teddy Roosevelt. And a new west wing was created for the President and his staff.

The first president to use an Oval Office in the west wing was William Howard Taft in 1909. Each president puts his own personal touch on the furnishings of the Oval Office. This desk was made from the oak timbers of the British ship Resolute, rescued from the Arctic ice by an America ship. It has been used by 21 presidents since Queen Victoria presented it to President Hayes in 1880. The Oval Office and its furnishings convey the historic legacy of the presidency. However, the west wing is not only for business. A bowling allay was created in the basement in 1947 for President Truman, followed by a later one designed for President Nixon underneath the north portico. It’s a favorite of presidential grandchildren. An indoor swimming pool built for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the terrace

between the residence and the west wing was converted by President Nixon into the White House pressroom. Foreign heads of state are greeted by the President and First Lady outside the north portico, where they pause for a photo opportunity. Inside the north portico is the entrance hall. The grand staircase is one of the most photographed places in the White House. Prior to state dinners, presidents, first ladies and their guests descend here and pause for the press as the marine band plays “Hail to the Chief”, an old Scottish anthem.

Majestic marble columns line the cross hall, which leads to the largest room in the mansion. Designed by Hoban as the public audience room, it is the East Room. Befitting the splendor of the room, is a concert grand piano especially designed for the White House and manufactured by Steinway in 1938. It features five gilt scenes of music unique to America. Supported by gilded mahogany eagles the piano is part of the musical history of the White House. In the East Room is the White House’s most prized treasure – a portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart. During the war of 1812, First Lady Dolley Madison bravely refused to flee the approaching British troops until the portrait was removed to safety. Spared from the British torches, it is the only object that has remained in the White House collection since 1800. Seven of the eight presidents who have died while in office have lain in state in the East Room, including President Abraham Lincoln, Warren G. Harding, and John F. Kennedy. A grand and memorable space embellished somewhat in size by this artist, the East Room is more often a place of celebration. Ulysses S. Grant’s daughter, Nellie, was married here in 1874. Nearly a century later, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s daughter Lynda was also married here. The East Room has been the setting for a long legacy of White House performances …

as well as for the presentation of awards and signing of treaties.

Three smaller reception rooms in the center of the state floor are furnished in styles popular during the years of our earliest presidents. The green room is finished in the federal style, named for the beginning years of our government under the constitution. President Jefferson used it as his dining room, while President Monroe used the room for playing cards. But throughout most of its history, the green room has been a parlor for small teas and receptions. Most of the early 19th-century mahogany furniture in the green room was handcrafted in the shop of one of America’s finest cabinetmakers, Duncan Phyfe of New York. A variety of hidden compartments in this table open to reveal storage areas and working surfaces for fine sewing or the painting of miniatures. This silver-plated coffee urn was prized by President John Adams, who may have purchased it in London, where he served as America’s first minister to Great Britain. Abigail Adams viewed England as the source of all things elegant. Above the mantel hangs a portrait of Benjamin Franklin by David Martin. It was commissioned by a merchant in whose favor Franklin had settled a dispute. The painting in the green room depict a broad spectrum of American art. Altogether there are more than 500 works of fine art in the White House collection, many by major American artists. The oval blue room is the most formal and elegant of the White House reception rooms. George Washington had been especially fond of an oval-shaped room in his presidential residence in Philadelphia. The unusual curved windows of the blue room frame an expansive view of the south grounds, Washington monument and the Jefferson memorial.

Known as the Oval Room until President Martin Van Buren had the furniture and draperies done in blue, presidents and first ladies have held formal White House receptions here throughout its history. The blue room is decorated in the French style of Napoleon, called “Empire,” chosen by President James Monroe in 1817 after the White House was rebuilt. These gilded furnishings are some of the most important antiques in America. This pair of porcelain vases feature painted scenes of Passy, France, where Benjamin Franklin lived while American minister. The red room is decorated in the American empire style from the period between 1810 and 1830. The furniture features carving influenced by Egyptian and Greek design. French-born cabinetmaker Charles-Honore Lannuier created this masterpiece in his New York workshop. It features inlaid marble in a pattern that appears 3-demensional, known as “Tromp L’oeil,” or “Trick of the Eye.” In the 19th century, White House families and their guests used this room for musical performances, but it has always been a favorite of first ladies for receiving guests.

Many of the White House rooms have served a variety of purposes over time, including the state dining room. Originally a much smaller space, it served as Thomas Jefferson’s office, where the famed Lewis and Clark expedition was planned. A staircase in the adjacent hallway was removed in 1902, greatly enlarging the state dining room. Theodore Roosevelt decorated the room with big-game heads purchased from a New York store. Woodrow Wilson’s wife found them gruesome, and they were later removed. This mantel was a reproduction in marble of the original design for President Theodore Roosevelt. It initially featured carved lions, but Roosevelt ordered them changed. Bison, he said, were much more American. On the mantel is an inscription from a letter written by President

John Adams to his wife, Abigail, on his second night in the White House. “I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.” Since 1874, formal state dinners have been held in the state dining room. As many as 140 guests can be seated here. Each elegant place setting includes gilded silver flatware and the distinctive White House china. The White House china collection represents the aesthetic tastes of many administrations. James Monroe’s 1817 service featured an American eagle … a common motif. Lady Bird Johnson selected a border of wild flowers … while President and Mrs. Hayes’ unusual setting proudly displayed American plants and animals.

Hidden behind the formal walls, one floor below the state dining room, the meals for state dinners are created in a compact kitchen. In very tight quarters, the White House pastry team creates elaborate desserts relating to the event taking place. “There you go. Don’t I look cute?” The pastry chef works magic with blown and pulled sugar.

With flowers as their palette, staff designers in the floral shop produce arrangements inspired by the country of the visiting head of state. A team of floral designers furnishes the White House with exquisite floral arrangements year round.

Beside the state dining room is the family dining room, normally used for working luncheons and dinners by the president. It is transformed during a state dinner into a whirlwind of activity. After all of the preparations have been made

and with much anticipation, the dinner finally takes place. For guests the evening’s menu serves as a tangible link to a memorable night.

While the White House must serve the needs of state visits, social events, and the workings of government, it is also a home – a place where family traditions are carried on. For all who work and live in the White House, there is always the knowledge that it is a temporary home and that one day the time will come to depart. As each president transfers his power to a new administration, he leaves behind a legacy. The house remains, and enduring symbol of our nation, of freedom, and of democracy.

President Kennedy: “So when we have as we do today, Grant’s table, Lincoln’s bed, Monroe’s gold set, all these make these men much more alive. So I think it makes the White House a stronger panorama, really, of our great story.”

“Serving in this office and residing in the house is an extraordinary privilege. Every occupant of the White House is aware of its dignity and grace, its promise and history. You have learned about some of the history in the last 30 minutes. Each room in the White House serves as a reminder of the great events that have shaped the history of America and the history of the world. This is where a president set in motion the end of the awful practice of slavery. This is where presidents directed wars against fascism and tyranny, where they helped end the great depression, secured civil rights for all Americans, and prevailed in the cold war. I am honored and humbled to live and work in a place where so many great American leaders have fought for our democratic ideals. The White House

represents the American promise – a promise of liberty and freedom for all. Those who live here may have different philosophies, but they share a common commitment to the people and the ideals of our country. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is the permanent address of the people and the temporary home of their leaders. Laura and I are proud the doors are open to those who wish to visit. This house belongs to you, the proud citizens of the United States of America.”