Committee for the Preservation of the White House

Last updated
The White House Red Room before refurbishment during the administration of Bill Clinton. RwhWJCed.jpg
The White House Red Room before refurbishment during the administration of Bill Clinton.

The Committee for the Preservation of the White House is an advisory committee charged with the preservation of the White House, the official home and principal workplace of the president of the United States. The committee is largely made up of citizens appointed by the president for their experience with historic preservation, architecture, decorative arts, and for their scholarship in these areas.

Contents

The Committee for the Preservation of the White House was created by executive order in 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson to replace a temporary White House Furnishings Committee established by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy during the Kennedy White House restoration (1961–1963). The committee is charged with establishing policies relating to the museum function of the White House, its state rooms and collections. It also works with the White House Historical Association in making recommendations on acquisitions for the permanent collection of the White House and provides advice on changes to principal rooms on the ground floor, state floor, and the historic guest suites on the residence floor of the White House Executive Residence.

The executive order states that the curator of the White House, Chief Usher of the White House, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the chair of the United States Commission of Fine Arts, and director of the National Gallery of Art serve as ex officio members of the committee. The director of the National Park Service serves as chair of the committee, and the First Lady serves as the honorary chair of the committee.

In February 2010, Los Angeles interior designer Michael S. Smith was appointed to the committee; [1] in August of that year, his makeover of the Oval Office was revealed to the public. [2]

See also

Notes

  1. "President Obama Announces Members of the Committee for the Preservation of the White House". whitehouse.gov . 3 February 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2010 via National Archives.
  2. Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (31 August 2010). "President's Office Takes On New Neutral Tones, But Keeps Its Familiar Shape". The New York Times.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White House</span> Official residence and workplace of the president of the United States

The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 when the national capital was moved from Philadelphia. The term "White House" is often used as a figure of speech for the president and his advisers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Room (White House)</span> Room in the White House in Washington, D.C., United States

The Blue Room is one of three state parlors on the first floor in the White House, the residence of the president of the United States. It is distinctive for its oval shape. The room is used for receptions and receiving lines and is occasionally set for small dinners. President Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom in the room on June 2, 1886, the only wedding of a President and First Lady in the White House. The room is traditionally decorated in shades of blue. With the Yellow Oval Room above it and the Diplomatic Reception Room below it, the Blue Room is one of three oval rooms in James Hoban's original design for the White House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Room (White House)</span> Room in the White House

The Red Room is one of three state parlors on the State Floor in the White House, the Washington D.C. home of the president of the United States. The room has served as a parlor and music room, and recent presidents have held small dinner parties in it. It has been traditionally decorated in shades of red. The room is approximately 28 by 22.5 feet. It has six doors, which open into the Cross Hall, Blue Room, South Portico, and State Dining Room.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Room (White House)</span> Historic site in Washington, DC

The Green Room is one of three state parlors on the first floor of the White House, the home of the president of the United States. It is used for small receptions and teas. During a state dinner, guests are served cocktails in the three state parlors before the president, first lady, and a visiting head of state descend the Grand Staircase for dinner. The room is traditionally decorated in shades of green. The room is approximately 28 by 22.5 feet. It has six doors, which open into the Cross Hall, East Room, South Portico, and Blue Room.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Dining Room of the White House</span>

The State Dining Room is the larger of two dining rooms on the State Floor of the Executive Residence of the White House, the home of the president of the United States in Washington, D.C. It is used for receptions, luncheons, larger formal dinners, and state dinners for visiting heads of state on state visits. The room seats 140 and measures approximately 48 by 36 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White House Library</span> Room in the White House, Washington D.C.

The White House Library is a room in the White House, the official home of the president of the United States. The room is approximately 27 by 23 feet and is in the northeast corner of the ground floor. The library is used for teas and meetings hosted by the president and first lady. During the 1950s reconstruction of the White House, old building lumber from the house was salvaged and re-made into wall paneling for this room. Several basement rooms in the White House are paneled with salvaged building materials from the pre-reconstructed White House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vermeil Room</span>

The Vermeil Room is located on the ground floor of the White House, the official residence of the president of the United States. The room houses a collection of silver-gilt or vermeil tableware, a 1956 bequest to the White House by Margaret Thompson Biddle. Portraits of American First Ladies hang in the room.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Room</span>

The China Room is one of the rooms on the Ground Floor of the White House, the home of the president of the United States. The White House's collection of state china is displayed there. The collection ranges from George Washington's Chinese export china to Barack Obama's blue and white themed collection. Almost all administrations are represented with a collection; however, a few are not - most recently, the Trump administration did not have a collection created and instead mainly used the china designed by Hillary Clinton during her time as First Lady. The room is primarily used by the first lady for teas, meetings, and smaller receptions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diplomatic Reception Room</span> Room in the White House

The Diplomatic Reception Room is one of three oval rooms in the Executive Residence of the White House, the official home of the president of the United States. It is located on the ground floor and is used as an entrance from the South Lawn and a reception room for foreign ambassadors to present their credentials, a ceremony formerly conducted in the Blue Room. The room is the point of entry to the White House for a visiting head of state following the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn. The room has four doors, which lead to the Map Room, the Center Hall, the China Room, and a vestibule that leads to the South Lawn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Map Room (White House)</span> Room in the White House

The Map Room is a room on the ground floor of the White House, the official home of the president of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cross Hall</span> Hallway in the White House

The Cross Hall is a broad hallway on the first floor in the White House, the official residence of the president of the United States. It runs east to west connecting the State Dining Room with the East Room. The room is used for receiving lines following a State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn, or a procession of the President and a visiting head of state and their spouses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow Oval Room</span> Room in the White House in Washington, D.C., United States

The Yellow Oval Room is an oval room located on the south side of the second floor in the White House, the official residence of the president of the United States. First used as a drawing room in the John Adams administration, it has been used as a library, office, and family parlor. It was designated the Yellow Oval Room during the restoration overseen by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Today the Yellow Oval Room is used for small receptions and for greeting heads of state immediately before a State Dinner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln Bedroom</span> Room on the White Houses second floor

The Lincoln Bedroom is a bedroom which is part of a guest suite in the southeast corner of the second floor of the White House in Washington, D.C. The Lincoln Sitting Room makes up the other part of the suite. The room is named for President Abraham Lincoln, who used the room as an office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White House Chief Usher</span> Head of staff and operations in the White House

The White House chief usher is the head of household staff and operations at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States of America. The position is currently held by Robert B. Downing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President's Dining Room</span> Dining room in the northwest corner of the second floor of the White House

The President's Dining Room is a dining room located in the northwest corner of the second floor of the White House. It is located directly above the Family Dining Room on the State Floor and looks out upon the North Lawn. The Dining Room is adjacent to the Family Kitchen, a small kitchen designed for use by the First Family, and served by a dumbwaiter connected to the main kitchen on the ground floor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Executive Residence</span> Central building of the White House complex

The Executive Residence is the central building of the White House complex located between the East Wing and West Wing. It is the most recognizable part of the complex, being the actual "house" part of the White House. This central building, first constructed from 1792 to 1800, is home to the president of the United States and the first family. The Executive Residence primarily occupies four floors: the ground floor, the state floor, the second floor, and the third floor. A sub-basement with a mezzanine, created during the 1948–1952 Truman reconstruction, is used for HVAC and mechanical systems, storage, and service areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White House Office of the Curator</span> Office of the White House

The White House Office of the Curator is charged with the conservation and study of the collection of fine art, furniture, and decorative objects used to furnish both the public and private rooms of the White House as an official residence and as an accredited historic house museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White House Historical Association</span> American educational organization

The White House Historical Association, founded in 1961 through efforts of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, is a private, non-profit organization that works to preserve the history of the White House and make that history more accessible to the public. As of March 2022, the president of the association is Stewart McLaurin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinet Room (White House)</span> Meeting room for the Cabinet of the United States

The Cabinet Room is the meeting room for the officials and advisors to the president of the United States who constitute the Cabinet of the United States. The room is located in the West Wing of the White House, adjoining the Oval Office, and looks out upon the White House Rose Garden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Entrance Hall</span> Primary and formal entrance to the White House

The Entrance Hall is the primary and formal entrance to the White House, the official residence of the president of the United States. The room is rectilinear in shape and measures approximately 31 by 44 feet. Located on the State Floor, the room is entered from outdoors through the North Portico, which faces the North Lawn and Pennsylvania Avenue. The south side of the room opens to the Cross Hall through a screen of paired Roman Doric columns. The east wall opens to the Grand Staircase.

References