The East Room is the largest room in the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

, the home of the president of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

. It is used for entertaining, press conferences, ceremonies, and occasionally for a large dinner. The White House's oldest possession, the Lansdowne portrait

Lansdowne portrait

The Lansdowne portrait is an iconic oil-on-canvas portrait of George Washington, the first President of the United States. The portrait was commissioned in April 1796 by Senator William Bingham of Pennsylvania—one of the wealthiest men in the U.S. at the time—and his wife, Anne...

depicting George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 and painted by Gilbert Stuart

Gilbert Stuart

Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...

 in 1797, was rescued from the 1814 fire, and now hangs in the East Room with a companion portrait of Martha Washington

Martha Washington

Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...

 painted by Eliphalet F. Andrews in 1878.

History and design

In the earliest floor plans, the room is labeled as the "Public Audience Hall." Many thought the title sounded too similar to a throne room

Throne room

A throne room is the room, often rather a hall, in the official residence of the crown, either a palace or a fortified castle, where the throne of a senior figure is set up with elaborate pomp— usually raised, often with steps, and under a canopy, both of which are part of the original notion of...

, and too regal for a new republic. The East Room was among the last rooms on the State Floor to be finished and used. Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, who was the second President of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth...

 hung laundry to dry there. During the Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

 administration the room was partitioned and the southern end used for Meriwether Lewis

Meriwether Lewis

Meriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark...

's bedchamber and office. In 1814–1815, following the burning of the White House, the East Room received new door frames and inlaid mahogany doors that remain in the room today. New finished plaster work in the form of a frieze of anthemion (a flowerlike, traditional Greek decorative pattern) was installed. This work was directed by architect to how the house appeared before and immediately after the 1814 fire. As the East Room had not been decorated until 1829, McKim took some liberties, devising a grand Beaux-Arts style reception hall. The room was panelled based on the 1780 Louis XVI style Salon de famille in the Château de Compiègne

Château de Compiègne

The Castle of Compiègne is a French château, a royal residence built for Louis XV and restored by Napoleon. Compiègne was one of three seats of royal government, the others being Versailles and Fontainebleau...

 and painted cream white. Three large Bohemian crystal chandeliers, an oak parquet floor and a carved and gilded suite of banquettes and console tables completed the room. In 1938, working with President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

, staff architect Eric Gugler designed a concert grand piano built by Steinway & Sons

Steinway & Sons

Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...

. The piano is decorated with a gilded frieze illustrating American dance: alternating European style waltzes with western cowboy, African American and Native American dance. The piano is supported by three large gilded eagles in the Art Moderne style.
During the Truman White House reconstruction of 1949–1952, the East Room panelling, plaster ceiling and furnishings were dismantled, numbered, and stored. However damage to the original woodwork and plasterwork required both be replaced. New panelling was carved, but simpler and with considerably less presence. A simpler crown molding and ceiling medallions were also installed. While the feeling was similar, the robust architectural effect was diminished. The size of the large chandeliers was reduced by several inches and outfitted with internal illumination for softer lighting. Red marble mantels were installed during the Truman renovation. There is a copy of the East Room at the Nixon Presidential Library in Southern California.

During the Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

 restoration, interior designer Stéphane Boudin

Stéphane Boudin

Stéphane Boudin was a French interior designer and a president of Maison Jansen, the influential Paris-based interior decorating firm.Boudin is best known for being asked by U.S...

 recommended the mantels be faux painted to appear as white marble, providing more unity to the room. Boudin also oversaw design of new drapery for the room, not installed until the Johnson administration. Made of a custom manufactured gold silk lampas

Lampas

Lampas is a type of luxury fabric with a background weft typically in taffeta with supplementary wefts laid on top and forming a design, sometimes also with a "brocading weft". Lampas is typically woven in silk, and often has gold and silver thread enrichment.-History:Lampas weaves were developed...

, the drapery was hung in straight panels without valances from the carved and gilded 1902 wooden cornices.The Kennedys installed a small moveable stage for the room, the Johnsons had a larger temporary stage with Corinthian pilasters matching the room's architecture built. This allowed for small theatrical events to be performed as entertainment following state dinners. During the Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

 administration the faux marble finish was removed from the mantels revealing the red marble and new Aubusson style carpets were woven to protect the parquet floors. Mrs. Bush installed new curtains, following the Kennedy fabric but with deeper swagged valances than those selected by Mrs. Reagan in 1982. Hers were the second curtains to follow the Kennedy fabric for the East Room.

Refurbishment

The East Room is presently in the design phase of a refurbishment by the Committee for the Preservation of the White House

Committee for the Preservation of the White House

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...

 and White House curator William Allman. Refurbishment of the White House's historic rooms happens on a regular basis. Input from the current first family, along with reference to historical documents and sometimes new research help guide the decisions of the committee.

Further reading

• Abbott, James A. A Frenchman in Camelot: The Decoration of the Kennedy White House by Stéphane Boudin. Boscobel Restoration Inc.: 1995. ISBN 0-9646659-0-5.
• Abbott James A., and Elaine M. Rice. Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration. Van Nostrand Reinhold: 1998. ISBN 0-442-02532-7.
• Clinton, Hillary Rodham. An Invitation to the White House: At Home with History. Simon & Schuster: 2000. ISBN 0-684-85799-5.
• Garrett, Wendell. Our Changing White House. Northeastern University Press: 1995. ISBN 1-55553-222-5.
• 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.
• Wolff, Perry. A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy. Doubleday & Company: 1962.
• The White House: An Historic Guide. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. ISBN 0-912308-79-6.

External links

• White House Museum: East Room floor plan and historical photographs