Executive Residence: Difference between revisions

The storeroom in the northeast corner of the ground floor remained in use as storage space only until 1809, when it became a laundry.{{sfn|Phillips-Schrock|2013|page=152}} In 1902, President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] hired the architectural firm of [[McKim, Mead & White]] to renovate the White House. They turned the room into a "gentleman's anteroom".{{sfn|Harris|2002|pages=80–81}} This room became the [[White House Library]] in 1935.{{sfn|Thacker-Estrada|2004|page=68}} First Lady [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Jacqueline Kennedy]] radically transformed the room in 1961.{{sfn|Thacker-Estrada|2004|page=68}} Kennedy consulted initially with a group consisting of members of the [[United States Commission of Fine Arts]], designers from the [[American Society of Interior Designers|American Institute of Interior Designers]] (AIID), and historians. The AIID agreed to take on the job of refurbishing the room,{{sfn|Harris|2002|page=80}} and Kennedy worked with decorator Jeanette Becker Lenygon of the AIID on the project. Lenygon designed an early American library room in the [[Federal architecture|Federal style]].{{sfn|Thacker-Estrada|2004|page=68}} Except for minor decorative changes, the White House Library remains the same as of 2010.{{sfn|Phillips-Schrock|2013|page=178}}

East of the original Servants' Hall was the Housekeeper's Office, and then a room for general work. The Housekeeper's Office was turned into general workspace in 1809, while the bedroom became a general-use servants' room.{{sfn|Phillips-Schrock|2013|page=152}} All rooms east of the oval Servant's Hall were turned into staff bedrooms by 1825 (with the Housekeeper's Office taking up a portion of the Steward's Office).{{sfn|Phillips-Schrock|2013|page=161}} In 1837, President [[Martin Van Buren]] made the bedroom that would become the China Room into quarters for a stoker, whose job was to keep the White House furnace fueled 24 hours a day, seven days a week (with summers off).{{sfn|Seale|1992|page=84}} First Lady [[Edith Wilson]] turned this room into the China Room in 1917 to display the Executive Residence's growing collection of [[White House china]].{{sfn|Whitcomb|Whitcomb|2002|page=365}} Just east of the China Room, the 1902 renovation turned the staff bedroom into a sitting room known as the Social Room.{{sfn|Phillips-Schrock|2013|page=138}}{{sfn|Buckland|Culbert-Aguilar|1994|page=32}} It was briefly renamed the Billiard Room after the 1952 restoration,{{sfn|Phillips-Schrock|2013|page=174}} but became the Vermeil Room in 1957 after mining heiress Margaret Thompson Biddle bequeathed 1,575 pieces of [[vermeil]] silverware to the White House.{{sfn|Harris|2002|page=80}}{{sfn|Buckland|Culbert-Aguilar|1994|page=32}} It remained little changed as of 2010.{{sfn|Phillips-Schrock|2013|page=178}}

President Truman was the individual who conceived of dedicating the space to Lincoln. The desk in the bedroom was Lincoln's, and the {{convert|8|ft|m|adj=on}} long, {{convert|6|ft|m|adj=on}} wide [[rosewood]] bed is probably the one [[William Wallace Lincoln|Willie Lincoln]] died in. The portrait of President Andrew Jackson that hangs in the room is one which Abraham Lincoln admired, and the Lincoln Bedroom has the only known copy of the [[Gettysburg Address]] signed, dated, and titled by Lincoln himself. The sitting room furnishings were all purchased by First Lady [[Mary Todd Lincoln]]. They include four [[mahogany]] chairs, a chest in the late [[Empire style]], and red and gold rugs and drapes. The small mahogany desk in the sitting room was constructed by James Hoban himself.{{sfn|Kalb|2013|page=1337}} The Lincoln Bedroom and Sitting Room were redecorated by First Lady [[Laura Bush]], who changed the decor so it more accurately reflected tastes common during the [[American Civil War]].{{sfn|Kalb|2013|page=1337}} The Lincoln Bedroom is usually used to house close friends of the president who are visiting the White House.{{sfn|Kalb|2013|pages=1336–1337}}

The room has undergone some changes in the past 25 years. First Lady [[Barbara Bush]] converted it into a private sitting room for the president. President [[George W. Bush]] had the room's historic paneling and its vibrant red, gold, and blue fabrics removed to alter it more to his own personal taste. President [[Barack Obama]] had the room redecorated in shades of [[beige]],{{sfn|Kalb|2013|page=1337}} and continued its use as a private presidential study.{{sfn|Phillips-Schrock|2013|page=180}}

The East Room's first documented use was as a bedroom for Frederick Dent (the father of First Lady Julia Grant). It later served as a bedroom for President Chester Arthur, [[Mary Dimmick Harrison|Mary Dimmick]] (First Lady Caroline Harrison's niece and private secretary), [[John Witherspoon Scott]] (father of First Lady Caroline Harrison), [[Kermit Roosevelt]], Madge Wallace (mother of First Lady Bess Truman), Caroline Kennedy, Pat and [[Luci Baines Johnson|Luci Nugent]] (she was the daughter of President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]), [[Tricia Nixon Cox|Tricia Nixon]], [[Susan Ford]] (daughter of President Gerald Ford), and Amy Carter.  It was converted into an office for First Lady Nancy Reagan, but turned back into a bedroom for use by Chelsea Clinton (daughter of President [[Bill Clinton]]).{{sfn|Anthony|2000|page=43}}