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White House Visitors Office: Difference between revisions
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[[File:WhiteHouseTourEarlyMorningLine.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The line to get same-day tour tickets stretched a long way around in June 1994, with the [[Washington Monument]] looming in the early morning distance.]] | [[File:WhiteHouseTourEarlyMorningLine.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The line to get same-day tour tickets stretched a long way around in June 1994, with the [[Washington Monument]] looming in the early morning distance.]] | ||
In 1976 during the [[United States Bicentennial]], long waits in line and a whole morning spent were commonplace due to large numbers in Washington, and a color-coded ticket distribution system was put in place.<ref name="nyt052977">{{cite news | url=https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F4081EF9395A167493CBAB178ED85F438785F9 | title=White House Tours to Require a Ticket | agency= | In 1976 during the [[United States Bicentennial]], long waits in line and a whole morning spent were commonplace due to large numbers in Washington, and a color-coded ticket distribution system was put in place.<ref name="nyt052977">{{cite news | url=https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F4081EF9395A167493CBAB178ED85F438785F9 | title=White House Tours to Require a Ticket | agency=Associated Press | newspaper=The New York Times | date=1977-05-29}}</ref> The system was put in place for good beginning in May 1977.<ref name="nyt052977"/> | ||
White House tours were often in high demand. By 1981,<ref name="nyt083081"/> a director of the White House Visitor Center was in charge of the operation. During the early 1980s, as many as 6,000 visitors were accommodated each day, with just as many turned away.<ref name="nyt083081">{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9E04EFDE133BF933A0575BC0A967948260 | title=White House Tour Leader Courted and Criticized | author=Gamarekian, Barbara | newspaper=The New York Times | date=1981-08-30}}</ref> Special pleas for tours coming from Washington officials had to be dealt with frequently.<ref name="nyt083081"/> In 1981, there was a dispute between [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] [[Nancy Reagan]] and [[New York (state)|New York]] [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] [[Thomas Downey]] over his free tickets privileges having been suspended.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F40812FA3A5C0C738EDDAF0894D9484D81 | title=Truce, Of Sorts, On White House Tours | author=Weisman, Steven R | newspaper=The New York Times | date=1981-06-20}}</ref> During the [[early 1980s recession]], White House tours remained fully booked even when other Washington attractions saw declining attendance;<ref name="nyt090282"/> the Visitor Center continued to process well over one million visits a year.<ref name="nyt090282">{{cite news | url=https://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F10D1EFD3F5C0C718CDDA00894DA484D81 | title=White House Remains Ever Popular | newspaper=The New York Times | date=1982-09-02}}</ref> White House Visitors Office personnel are constantly caught between trying to satisfy demands and expectations for tours and events, and preserving the dignity of the presidential office and setting.<ref name="patterson"/> | White House tours were often in high demand. By 1981,<ref name="nyt083081"/> a director of the White House Visitor Center was in charge of the operation. During the early 1980s, as many as 6,000 visitors were accommodated each day, with just as many turned away.<ref name="nyt083081">{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9E04EFDE133BF933A0575BC0A967948260 | title=White House Tour Leader Courted and Criticized | author=Gamarekian, Barbara | newspaper=The New York Times | date=1981-08-30}}</ref> Special pleas for tours coming from Washington officials had to be dealt with frequently.<ref name="nyt083081"/> In 1981, there was a dispute between [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] [[Nancy Reagan]] and [[New York (state)|New York]] [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] [[Thomas Downey]] over his free tickets privileges having been suspended.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F40812FA3A5C0C738EDDAF0894D9484D81 | title=Truce, Of Sorts, On White House Tours | author=Weisman, Steven R | newspaper=The New York Times | date=1981-06-20}}</ref> During the [[early 1980s recession]], White House tours remained fully booked even when other Washington attractions saw declining attendance;<ref name="nyt090282"/> the Visitor Center continued to process well over one million visits a year.<ref name="nyt090282">{{cite news | url=https://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F10D1EFD3F5C0C718CDDA00894DA484D81 | title=White House Remains Ever Popular | newspaper=The New York Times | date=1982-09-02}}</ref> White House Visitors Office personnel are constantly caught between trying to satisfy demands and expectations for tours and events, and preserving the dignity of the presidential office and setting.<ref name="patterson"/> | ||