WHITE HOUSE TOUR, PART II

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2257

TOURING THE GREEN, BLUE & RED ROOMS OF THE WHITE HOUSE

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) JFK+50 took our anxiously-awaited self-guided tour* of the White House yesterday morning, March 23, 2017.  After touring the East Room as we described in yesterday's post, we strolled through the Green, Blue and Red Rooms.

According to the 1962 White House tour guide, "The Green Room represents the graceful and delicate American Federal style."  Mrs. Kennedy's emerald and gold wallpaper was reinstalled with the renovation of 1971.  This room has six doors which open to the Cross Hall, East Room, South Portico and Blue Room.

The marble top center table, which is in the Blue Room today, has been in the White House since 1817.  A portrait of President John Tyler by George P.A. Healy (1859) hangs above the Monroe sofa.

On the fireplace mantel of the Blue Room sits the Minerva clock ordered especially for the room by President James Monroe.   The view out the center window of the room is one of the most beautiful in the city.  You can see the South Lawn, the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial.

A Gueridon with fine inlay and bronze caryatid heads with marble top is located in the Red Room.  It was made by French-American cabinet maker Charles Honore Lannuier.  Mrs. John F. Kennedy proudly pointed out this piece to viewers of her Tour of the White House in February 1962.

On the fireplace mantel is an 18th century French musical clock presented to the White House in 1952 by Vincent Aurioly, President of France. 

*Tours are arranged through your congressman's office well in advance.  You receive email confirmation of your acceptance for the tour only a couple of weeks before the actual date.  While the estimated time of the tour is 45 minutes, it took us two hours from the time we arrived until the time we left.

SOURCES

"The White House, An Historic Guide," White House Historical Association, Washington, D.C., 1962.

White House Tours Boarding Pass, whitehouse.gov/

The Green Room

March 23, 2017

Photo by John White

Minerva Clock

The Blue Room

March 23, 2017

Photo by John White

View Looking South

From the Blue Room

March 23, 2017

Photo by John White

Lannuier Table

The Red Room

March 23, 2017

Photo by John White

WHITE HOUSE TOUR, PART I

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2257

TOURING THE WHITE HOUSE ON A COLD EARLY SPRING MORNING

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) JFK+50 took our anxiously-awaited self-guided tour* of the White House this morning, March 23, 2017.  We arrived at the Visitors Entrance in front of the north side of the Treasury Building just after 7 a.m. and waited in line until about 7:40.

We picked a really cold morning, at least for early spring in the Nation's Capital.  The temperature was in the upper 20s.  When the line starting moving we passed through three checkpoints.  The first took our "Boarding Pass" and photo identification.  The second included a body scan and the third required removing cameras, keys, cell phones, etc. from our persons & putting them on a conveyor belt for scanning.

We then walked into the East Wing hallway toward the steps leading up to the main floor.  There was a slight delay waiting at the bottom of the steps.  A security agent told us that to our left behind tall barriers was the hall leading to the West Wing.  It was from behind those barriers President Donald Trump emerged to greet visitors of the first tour held after his inauguration.

We then walked up the steps to the EAST ROOM.  Originally designated as the Public Audience Chamber, the East Room came to be known as the Banquet Room.  The largest room in the executive mansion, the East Room has been used for award ceremonies, concerts, dances, funerals, press conferences and weddings.

There are some very historical objects in this room.  First is the Landsdowne portrait of George Washington, the work of Gilbert Stuart in 1794, that was saved from capture by Dolley Madison.  There is also a portrait of Martha Washington by Eliphalet Andrews hanging nearby.  There are two of President Monroe's candelabras on the mantle in the room.

We discovered the Steinway grand piano is no longer located in the East Room. Although it is occasionally brought in for special concerts, today it is near the front window in the Entrance Foyer.

*Tours are arranged through your congressman's office well in advance.  You receive email confirmation of your acceptance for the tour only a couple of weeks before the actual date.  While the estimated time of the tour is 45 minutes, it took us two hours from the time we arrived until the time we left.

SOURCES

"The White House, An Historic Guide," White House Historical Association, Washington, D.C., 1962.

White House Tours Boarding Pass, whitehouse.gov/

John and Jennifer White

White House East Room

March 23, 2017

Photo by David Mangone