Virtual Field Trip

Tour of the White House in Washington D.C.

BITE 4435

• Assignment 10 Virtual Field Trip (11/17/2012)• In this Virtual Field Trip, we will explore the

White House by looking at very stunning visuals of many rooms of the White House.

• Each visual slide will have a slide afterward with information pertaining to the visual.

• So sit back and take a virtual tour of the White house and discover it’s beauty and learn a little something new along the way.

The Diplomatic Room

Click to see a Video of the Diplomatic Room

• Once the White House furnace room, the Diplomatic Reception Room was transformed during the 1902 Theodore Roosevelt renovation into a receiving room. It was from this room, during the Great Depression in the 1930s and through World War II, that President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his famous Fireside Chats radio addresses to the American people. President Obama occasionally uses the Diplomatic Room as the site of his weekly video addresses.

• First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy added the wallpaper of scenic American landscapes to the room in 1962. The emblems of each of the 50 states border the room’s rug. The room is now used as a meeting place for guests before large events and as the principal entry for the First Family.

The Map Room

Click to see a Video of the Map Room

• Primarily used as a meeting room for the President and First Lady, the Map Room was used as a war room by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II. Early maps of Washington, DC hang in the room, as well as a case of world maps presented by the National Geographic Society and the last situation map prepared in the room for Roosevelt in 1945. From a meeting between President Obama and His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama to a classical music workshop with renowned musicians and local music students – the Map Room serves a number of purposes today.

The China RoomClick to See a video of the China Room

• Until the late 19th century, White House furnishings, including the china services, were sold off at auction to supplement funds for new furnishings. First Lady Caroline Harrison started a china collection to exhibit the tastes of her predecessors. In 1917, First Lady Edith Wilson created the China Room, now home to the famous White House collection.

• The red theme in the room matches the red dress worn by First Lady Grace Coolidge in a full-length portrait with her dog, Rob Roy. The display of china, glass and silver tableware is arranged in chronological order from left to right.

The Vermeil RoomClick to see a video of the Vermeil Room

• The Vermeil Room takes its name from the display of a collection of gilded silver, "vermeil" in French, given to the White House in 1957. Although portraits of the most recent First Ladies hang in the corridor, the portraits of five 20th century First Ladies, including Eleanor Roosevelt and Jacqueline Kennedy, hang in the Vermeil Room.

Press Briefing Room

Click to see a video of the Press Briefing Room

• Constructed in 1970 during the Nixon Administration, the Briefing Room provided more space to accommodate a growing White House Press Corps.

• The Briefing Room replaced a swimming pool that was installed in 1934 for President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s physical therapy. A staircase behind the stage provides access to the deep end of the one-time pool, which now contains 18-miles of cables and the signatures of White House staff and celebrities on the original tile walls.

• Currently, approximately 200 journalists make up the White House Press Corps. With just 49 chairs in the Briefing Room, the White House Correspondents Association decides who gets the coveted seats. A plaque on each seat displays the name of the news organization to which it is assigned.

The West Wing Reception Room

Click to see a video of the West Wing Reception Room

• Visitors who come to see the President, Vice President, and White House staff pass through the West Wing Reception Room. Renovated by President Richard Nixon in 1970 into a smaller, more intimate receiving room, it houses several paintings from the White House collection as well as a 1770 mahogany bookcase, one of the oldest pieces of furniture in the White House.

The Roosevelt Room

Click to see a video of the Roosevelt Room

• The Roosevelt Room, an all-purpose conference room, was created in 1934. It occupies the original location of President Theodore Roosevelt’s office when the West Wing was built in 1902. President Richard Nixon named the room in 1969 to honor both Roosevelts – Theodore for building the West Wing and Franklin D. for its expansion. Portraits of both presidents hang in the Roosevelt Room.

The Oval Office

Click to see a video of the Oval Office

• The official office of the President and his primary place of work, the Oval Office provides the President with easy access to senior advisors and the Residence. It was created in 1909 when the West Wing doubled in size under President William Howard Taft.

• Each President may decorate the Oval Office to suit his tastes, though some features remain constant, including the white marble mantel from the original 1909 Oval Office. President Barack Obama chose to retain the famous "Resolute Desk” – recognized in the historic photograph of the young JFK, Jr. peeking out from its panel. Constructed from timbers of H.M.S. Resolute, the desk was presented by Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880.

• In August 2010, the Oval Office was refurbished for President Obama with striped wallpaper, new sofas, and a mica-clad coffee table. An oval rug features the presidential seal and historical quotes of meaning to President Obama around the border.

The Rose Garden

Click to see a video of the Rose Garden

• In 1913, First Lady Ellen Wilson began planting roses in the garden adjoining the Colonnade, and the Rose Garden was born. It was redesigned during the Kennedy Administration to serve as a Presidential reception area. When weather permits, the President’s bill signings, press conferences and diplomatic receptions take place here.

The Navy Mess

• U.S. Navy stewards have been responsible for Presidential food service since 1880, when President Rutherford B. Hayes used the U.S.S.Despatch as the first Presidential yacht. Since the establishment of the White House Mess in 1951 under President Harry S. Truman, the Navy has assigned their best culinary specialists to provide food service at the White House.

East Colonnade

• The East Terrace, originally built by Thomas Jefferson but demolished in 1866, was reconstructed during the Theodore Roosevelt renovation of the White House in 1902. The glass-enclosed Colonnade connects the East Wing to the Residence.

The East Garden Room

• The East Garden Room sits between the East Colonnade and the Residence. This space exhibits pieces of White House history for visitors on White House tours and guests who pass through this room daily.

The Blue Room

Click to see a video of the Blue Room

• The Blue Room is located in the center of the State Floor of the White House. The President uses the Blue Room to receive many of his guests, from foreign heads of state to members of Congress. Originally decorated in red, blue was selected as the color for the drapes, upholstery, and carpet during an 1837 refurbishing under President Martin Van Buren. Blue walls were introduced in 1902. It has since been redecorated, but has always maintained its famous blue color scheme. During the holidays, the Blue Room is the location of the official White House’s Christmas tree.

State Dining Room

• When Thomas Jefferson began his term in 1801, he used this room as an office and the adjoining Red Room to meet guests and visitors. President James Madison established the State Dining Room in 1809. The Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington hung on the west wall before First Lady Dolley Madison had it removed to safety in 1814 before the White House was burned by the British. During his large scale 1902 renovation, President Theodore Roosevelt greatly expanded the Dining Room, increasing its capacity to 140 seated guests. A centerpiece of that renovation was a collection of wild animal heads, including a moose head over the fireplace mantel. During the Obama Administration, state dinners have been held in the larger East Room and in tents on the South Lawn. The State Dining Room has been used for meetings with members of Congress and other groups.

The Red Room

Click to see video of the Red Room

• The Red Room received its name after red fabrics were used for the draperies, upholsteries and floor covering in the 1840s. Today the walls are covered in a red twill satin fabric with a gold design in the borders, and the furniture is upholstered in a silk of the same shade of red. The rug is a reproduction of a 19th century French Savonnerie carpet installed when First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy refurbished the room.

• Beginning in 1809, First Lady Dolley Madison held gatherings every Wednesday in the Red Room to encourage socializing between members of opposing political parties. In 1933, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt used the Red Room to host the first of many press conferences for women reporters who at that time were excluded from the President's press conferences.

• The Red Room was also the site of the secret swearing-in of President Rutherford B. Hayes right after his hotly contested defeat of Samuel J. Tilden in the election of 1876. Inauguration fell on a Sunday that year. To avoid a possible coup, he took the oath of office in the Red Room and then again in public on March 5, 1877.

The Green Room

Click to see a video of the Green Room

• With its intimate size, green silk-covered walls and early 19th-century American furniture, the Green Room is a favorite White House parlor. The room was referred to as the “Green Drawing Room" as far back as 1825 after a green floor covering was placed there during the Jefferson Administration. In 1961, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy began a program to give a more formal, museum-like character to the public rooms of the White House. The Green Room was one of the notable rooms that Mrs. Kennedy helped redesign. Artwork in the room today includes Henry Ossawa Tanner's Sand Dunes at Sunset,Atlantic City, the first work by an African American artist to be added to the permanent White House collection.

Entrance Hall and Cross Hall

• Originally used as the gateway to the White House for the First Family and the public, the Entrance Hall and Cross Hall were at the center of architect James Hoban’s plan for the White House.

• In 1835 President Andrew Jackson received a gift of a 1,400 lb. wheel of cheese and placed it in the Entrance Hall for the public. Crowds arrived in droves, and guests trampled cheese crumbs into the carpet. The Hall smelled for weeks. In 1841 the public passed through the Entrance Hall for a much more somber purpose: to view the body of President William Henry Harrison who died after only a month in office. The Entrance Hall still serves as the official entrance for state visitors.

The North Portico

• The front door of the White House opens out onto the North Portico, facing Pennsylvania Avenue. Constructed in 1829-30, the portico provides covered access to the Entrance Hall. Once the principal entrance to the White House for both the family and the public, the north doorway is now where the President and First Lady greet guests of state before gala dinners. Visitors on public tours also exit through this doorway.

The South Portico

• The South Portico was constructed by James Hoban in 1824 during the presidency of James Monroe. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman added the Truman Balcony to the second floor, a private porch enjoyed by First Families ever since.

References• http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/inside-white

-house/interactive-tour• http://whitehouse.c-span.org/ByRoomPage.as

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