Library (White House)

The White House Library is located on the Ground Floor of the White House, the official home of the President of the United States. The room is approximately 27 by 23 feet and is located in the northwest of the ground floor. The Library is used for teas and meetings by the President and First Lady.

Furnishings

The Library is decorated with furnishings from the late Federal Period, 1800 to 1829, and most of the pieces have been attributed to the New York cabinetmaker Duncan Phyfe. They were acquired under the Kennedy Administration in 1961 and 1962. A pair of English-silver Argand lamps, a gift from French General Marquis de Lafayette to America's first Secretary of War Henry Knox, stand on the room's mantel. A painting by Georgia O'Keefe hangs over the mantel, carved by Samuel MacIntyre. A rare lighthouse clock, made by Simon Willard in honor of a visit by Lafayette from 1824 to 1825 and bearing a likeness of the French general, stands on one of the bookshelves. The east door is surrounded by portraits of Native Americans made by artist Charles Bird King, while a fifth portrait hangs over the door leading to the Center Hall. The American chairs by William King flanking the fireplace are from a suite purchased for the East Room by President Jackson in 1829.

History

John Adams, the first President to live in the White House, used this room as a laundry room; at that time it was said to have been filled with "Tubs Buckets and a variety of Lumber." It continued to be used as a laundry until 1902 when President Theodore Roosevelt had the White House renovated by the architect Charles Follen McKim.

President Herbert Hoover first conceived of using the room as a library in 1935. Subsequent presidents made slight moderations until the Truman reconstruction in 1952 when the room was paneled in salvaged ancient sawn pine timbers of the White House. These were left unpainted until the administration of John F. Kennedy when decorator Stéphane Boudin recreated the room as a painted Federal style parlor.

The Library provides access to a men's lounge and restroom.

References

* Abbott James A., and Elaine M. Rice. "Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration." Van Nostrand Reinhold: 1998. ISBN 0-442-02532-7.
* Abbott, James A. "Jansen." Acanthus Press: 2006. ISBN 0-926494-33-3.
* Garrett, Wendell. "Our Changing White House." Northeastern University Press: 1995. ISBN 1-55553-222-5.
* Leish, Kenneth. "The White House." Newsweek Book Division: 1972. ISBN 0-88225-020-5.
* McKellar, Kenneth, Douglas W. Orr, Edward Martin, et al. "Report of the Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion." Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion, Government Printing Office: 1952.
* Monkman, Betty C. "The White House: The Historic Furnishing & First Families." Abbeville Press: 2000. ISBN 0-7892-0624-2.
* Seale, William. "The President's House." White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 1986. ISBN 0-912308-28-1.
* Seale, William, "The White House: The History of an American Idea." White House Historical Association: 1992, 2001. ISBN 0-912308-85-0.
* West, J.B. with Mary Lynn Kotz. "Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies." Coward, McCann & Geoghegan: 1973. SBN 698-10546-X.
* "Exhibition Catalogue, Sale 6834: The Estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis April 23-26, 1996." Sothebys, Inc.: 1996.
* "The White House: An Historic Guide." White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. ISBN 0-912308-79-6.