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The East Room is an event and reception room in the
Executive Residence Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...
, which is a building of the White House complex, the home of the president of the United States. The East Room is the largest room in the Executive Residence; it is used for dances, receptions, press conferences, ceremonies, concerts, and banquets. The East Room was one of the last rooms to be finished and decorated, and it has undergone substantial redecoration over the past two centuries. Since 1964, the Committee for the Preservation of the White House has, by executive order, advised the president of the United States and first lady on the decor, preservation, and conservation of the East Room and other public rooms at the White House.


Construction and early decoration

The White House was designed by architect
James Hoban James Hoban (1755 – December 8, 1831) was an Irish-American architect, best known for designing the White House. Life James Hoban was a Roman Catholic raised on Desart Court estate belonging to the Earl of Desart near Callan, County Kilken ...
.
Leinster House Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, ...
in Ireland was the main inspiration for the White House, and includes a large east room which may have inspired Hoban's East Room. But the newly added Large Dining Room at Mount Vernon may also have been a source for the design of the East Room. As his drawings of the second and third floor do not exist, it is unclear what use Hoban intended for the room. It is possible that Hoban intended it for use as a private gallery for the family. It was the largest room in the White House, however, about in size with a ceiling. The middle window in the north wall was designed to provide access to a terrace (never built). The East Room was first assigned a purpose in 1807. Architect
Benjamin Henry Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was an Anglo-American neoclassical architect who emigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, dra ...
had been brought to the capital by Thomas Jefferson, who made him commissioner of public buildings. Latrobe surveyed the White House in 1803, and architectural drawings of the building (produced in 1807) are the earliest extant plans now known. On his sketches, Latrobe comments "Public Audience chamber entirely unfinished, the ceiling has given way." Latrobe also proposed sealing the windows on the east side of the room based on an architectural theory about natural light. But this change was not made.


Early furnishings

The East Room was among the last rooms on the State Floor to be completed and used. The White House was unfinished when President John Adams occupied it between 1800 and 1801. His wife,
Abigail Adams Abigail Adams ( ''née'' Smith; November 22, [ O.S. November 11] 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the wife and closest advisor of John Adams, as well as the mother of John Quincy Adams. She was a founder of the United States, an ...
, hung laundry in the bare East Room to dry. Although much of the White House was finished and decorated during Adams administration, the East Room was not. The room's lone artwork was a copy of the
Lansdowne portrait The Lansdowne portrait is an cultural icon, iconic life-size portrait of George Washington painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1796. It depicts the 64-year-old President of the United States during his final year in office. The portrait was a gift to for ...
depicting
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
, painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1797. It was purchased by the White House in 1800, and hung in the East Room. (Rescued from the 1814 fire, it still hangs there, with a companion portrait of Martha Washington painted by
Eliphalet Frazer Andrews Eliphalet Frazer Andrews (June 11, 1835 – March 15, 1915), an American painter known primarily as a portraitist, established an art instruction curriculum at the behest of William Wilson Corcoran at his Corcoran School of Art, and served as i ...
in 1878.) There was extensive feeling in Congress that Adams had adopted too many of the trappings of monarchy, and Congress declined to appropriate funds to finish the room for fear it would look too much like a
throne room A throne room or throne hall 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 (usually a monarch) is set up with elaborate pomp—usually raised, ...
. During the Jefferson administration, 38 gold-and-black painted chairs were purchased and placed in the room, but little else is known of the room's furnishings prior to 1814. Jefferson also had the East Room partitioned (using canvas and sailcloth for walls) and the southern end used for a bedroom and office for
Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, 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 ...
and Lewis Harvie (both Private Secretary to the President). Jefferson's successor, James Madison, sought to make the partitions permanent and asked Latrobe to design bedrooms and office space across the southern part of the room. But these changes were not made, either. Madison did use a portion of the East Room, however, for
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
meetings.


Post-fire restoration and furnishings

The East Room, along with the rest of the White House, was burned in 1814 during the
Burning of Washington The Burning of Washington was a British invasion of Washington City (now Washington, D.C.), the capital of the United States, during the Chesapeake Campaign of the War of 1812. It is the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a f ...
in the War of 1812. The interior was gutted, and most of the exterior sandstone walls remained standing. The north facade of the White House was the most damaged. But because the East Room had so little furniture in it, the section of the north facade fronting the East Room was the least damaged. Latrobe helped to reconstruct the White House. In 1814 and 1815, the rebuilt East Room received new door frames and inlaid mahogany doors that remain in the room today. New plaster work in the form of a gilded cornice-line frieze of
anthemion The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has a far-reaching history, originating in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art o ...
(a flowerlike, traditional Greek decorative pattern) was installed, and the walls plastered (and left unpainted) as well.
Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...
furniture, made by Georgetown craftsman William King Jr., was added to the East Room by President James Monroe in 1818. (First Lady
Elizabeth Monroe Elizabeth Monroe ( ''née'' Kortright; June 30, 1768 – September 23, 1830) was the first lady of the United States from 1817 to 1825, as the wife of James Monroe, fifth president of the United States. Due to the fragile condition of Elizabe ...
's involvement was limited to choosing drapery fabric for the room). King produced 24 armchairs and four sofas, all made of mahogany. The total cost was $1,408. The furniture was not upholstered, and sat along the walls largely unused. In 1829, the first year of the Jackson administration, the King furniture was finally upholstered in blue damask silk. Monroe also purchased (for $80) a marble bust of George Washington by the Italian sculptor Giuseppe Ceracchi, which remained in the East Room probably until the Kennedy redecoration in 1962 (when it was moved to the Blue Room). Monroe also purchased in 1817 for the fireplace mantels four gilt bronze candelabra, designed and manufactured by the French bronzemaker
Pierre-Philippe Thomire Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751–1843) a French sculptor, was the most prominent ''bronzier'', or producer of ornamental patinated and gilt-bronze objects and furniture mounts of the First French Empire. His fashionable neoclassical and Empire ...
. By 1825, the room contained 24 unfinished
mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Univ ...
armchairs, four large unfinished mahogany sofas, eight tables made of pine, a door screen, a paper partition, a three-shelf bookshelf, a mahogany map stand, a washstand (with basin and ewer), and a clothes press. But for the most part, from 1818 to 1829 the East Room was unused. Occasionally it was cleared and used for dances, but usually its doors were locked and it served as storage space. A widely reported story claims that for two months in the summer of 1825, the East Room housed at least one live
alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additional ...
that belonged to the visiting
Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...
, but a lack of contemporary evidence suggests that the story might be apocryphal. Congress appropriated $6,000 to finally finish the room in 1826, although the funds were not made available until 1825. President
John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...
used the money to repair the White House rather than finish the room.


1829 completion under Jackson

The East Room was finally completed and decorated in 1829 by Andrew Jackson. New plaster work in the form of a cornice-line frieze of
anthemion The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has a far-reaching history, originating in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art o ...
(a flowerlike, traditional Greek decorative pattern) was installed, three Neoclassical plasterwork medallions affixed to the ceiling, and the demi-lune over the east wall's Venetian window removed and turned into a wall. Decorative wooden beams were added to the ceiling, and two of the east-facing windows were blocked off and fireplaces with black Italian marble mantelpieces installed in their place. The Jackson administration turned to French-born American importer
Louis Véron Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...
of Philadelphia for assistance in furnishing the executive mansion. Véron was one of the first merchants to display items from a wide range of suppliers in a showroom, rather than manufacture the items himself. Nearly all the 1829 furnishings for the East Room were supplied by Véron. Véron also added gilt rays and stars over the west door (the one the president usually used when entering the room). The bare walls were covered with yellow wallpaper with cloth edging, light-blue moreen drapes were added to the windows, and plaster cornices adorned with eagles were installed over the windows. Véron covered the floor with a red-bordered blue,
fawn Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindee ...
, and yellow carpet woven in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. The 1818 Monroe furniture was upholstered, three large mahogany tables topped with marble, and four white marble-topped
pier table A pier table is a table designed to be placed against a wall, either between two windows or between two columns. It is also known as a console table (french: console, "support bracket"), although furniture historians differentiate the two types, n ...
s placed in the room. For lighting, Véron provided several astral and mantel lamps. Gilded bronze wall brackets for hanging lamps and candles were attached to the walls, and mirrors in gilt frames placed over the fireplace mantels. Jackson also purchased three cut-glass chandeliers to light the room. Each chandelier, which featured 18 whale oil lamps, hung from the ceiling medallions and were complemented with whale oil wall sconces and table lamps. There were also 20
spittoon A spittoon (or spitoon) is a receptacle made for spitting into, especially by users of chewing and dipping tobacco. It is also known as a cuspidor (which is the Portuguese word for "spitter" or "spittoon", from the verb "cuspir" meaning "to s ...
s. His expenditures totaled $9,358.27, provided by a friendly Congress eager to make the White House a more elegant symbol of the nation. The East Room's original 18-lamp chandeliers were removed by Jackson in 1834 and placed in the State and
Family Dining Room : The Family Dining Room is a dining room located on the State Floor of the White House, the official residence of the president of the United States. The room is used for smaller, more private meals than those served in the State Dining Room. Use ...
s. Véron supplied the East Room with a more luxurious set.


Mid to late 19th century refurbishments

Furniture upholstered in light blue, light blue curtains, and imported French silver wallpaper with a gold border were added to the East Room by the Martin Van Buren administration in 1839. At some point prior to the inauguration of President William Henry Harrison in March 1841, the East Room acquired eight floor-to-ceiling mirrors with broad, heavily carved frames. President James K. Polk had the White House plumbed for
gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...
heating and lighting in 1848. Cornelius & Company of Philadelphia retrofitted the 1834 chandeliers for gas, and Polk himself watched their first lighting. By the end of the Polk administration in January 1849, the East Room was adorned with three chandeliers, three "pier glasses" (mirrors), red damask window drapes, white muslin window curtains, four new sofas, 24 new chairs, three large tables (placed in the center of the room), four pier tables with marble tops, a large carpet, four new hearthrugs, four fire fenders, four large candelabra, eight small candelabra, eight mantle ornaments, and a bust of
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
. New draperies, lace curtains, and a carpet were added by
Jane Pierce Jane Means Pierce (née Appleton; March 12, 1806 – December 2, 1863) was the wife of Franklin Pierce and the first lady of the United States from 1853 to 1857. She married Franklin Pierce, then a Congressman, in 1834 despite her family's misgiv ...
, wife of President
Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unit ...
, in 1853. The Pierces also had the over-mantel mirrors and pier mirrors reframed by L. R. Menger of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...
.


1861 Lincoln refurbishment

Despite this redecoration, the East Room was nonetheless somewhat shabby by 1861. On April 18, 1861, about 60 militiamen from Kansas took up temporary residence in the East Room pending construction of barracks for them in the city. They did serious damage to the carpet, and sometimes shot bullets into the walls. Mary Todd Lincoln refurbished the room with damask drapes, lace curtains, wallpaper, and a new $2,500 carpet later that year. The wallpaper was heavy patterned velvet cloth paper from Paris in crimson, garnet, and gold, and supplied by William H. Carryl & Brother of New York. The floor covering was an
Axminster carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester have ...
woven in Glasgow, Scotland. The largest loom in the world was needed to weave the carpet, which covered the entire floor. The drapes were crimson with heavy gold fringe and numerous gold tassels, while the lace curtains behind them were imported from Switzerland. The East Room under the Lincolns remained sparsely furnished, however, as befit a reception hall. The three chandeliers, which dated from the Jackson administration, were cleaned and reinstalled. They were so brilliant that the press assumed they were new. Mrs. Lincoln left the three large mahogany tables with black and gold marble inlays, which had long occupied the room, below each chandelier. Two funerals for Lincoln Family members were held in the East Room in the 1860s. The first was that of 11-year-old Willie Lincoln, President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
's son, who died of typhoid fever on February 21, 1862. Just over three years later, Lincoln's body lay in state in the East Room as well, and his funeral was held there on April 19. At the time of Lincoln's death in 1865, the East Room contained 24 chairs, four sofas, four tables, eight sets of drapes, eight sets of lace curtains, eight mirrors, and one carpet. All the furniture was in poor shape. During his administration, members of the public attending the weekly receptions in the room had heavily vandalized the room in seeking souvenirs, ripping down portions of the wallpaper and stealing cords and tassels from the drapes. Someone even cut a square yard from one of the damask drapes. Others took scissors and knives to the carpet, gouging the oak floor beneath, and gilded ornaments were stolen from the mantels. President
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a De ...
had the public rooms on the State Floor refurbished in 1866. His wife,
Eliza McCardle Johnson Eliza Johnson (née McCardle; October 4, 1810 – January 15, 1876) was the first lady of the United States from 1865 to 1869. She served as the second lady of the United States in 1865. She was the wife of Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of ...
, was in frail health and did little in the way of entertaining or overseeing the White House. Johnson instead relied on his daughter, Martha Patterson (wife of Senator
David T. Patterson David Trotter Patterson (February 28, 1818November 3, 1891) was a United States Senator from Tennessee at the beginning of the Reconstruction period. A staunch Union supporter (as were most of his fellow East Tennesseans), he was elected by th ...
). In May, the East Room was cleared of furnishings. Mrs. Patterson oversaw the selection of new yellow wallpaper with a black and gold border, lace curtains, and reupholstered furniture. The ceiling was repainted and frescoes added, and the ceiling centerpieces and cornices were regilded. Only once did Mrs. Johnson intervene, and that was to request that the paint applied to ceiling be of the highest quality. Patterson also had the three large marble-topped tables removed from the East Room and placed in the family private quarters, and two of the four pier tables added to the Family Dining Room. The East Room was finished in early 1867.


1873 Grant refurbishment

The East Room was radically redecorated in 1873 during the administration of
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
. Architects
Orville Babcock Orville Elias Babcock (December 25, 1835 – June 2, 1884) was an American engineer and general in the Union Army during the Civil War. An aide to General Ulysses S. Grant during and after the war, he was President Grant's military private secr ...
(Commissioner of Public Buildings and Grounds), Richard Ezdorf, William J. McPherson, and Alfred Mullett were faced with both a decorative and structural task. The heavy walls above the East Room as well as inadequate structural support had caused the ceiling to sag appreciably. Furthermore, the Grants wanted to renovate the East Room into a far more modern space reflective of their Midwest tastes. The architects added new load-bearing beams across the ceiling, which made the room appear to be much lower in height. Corinthian columns were added to support these beams. To integrate the beams into the room, they extended the 1815 frieze decoratively across the beams. The ceiling, divided into three sections by the beams, was refrescoed as well. Elaborately carved new fireplaces painted in white and gold replaced the simpler 1829 fireplaces. To help integrate the load-bearing columns into the room, white and gold painted pilasters were added to the room. White-painted carved paneling with
Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
designs; massive, low-hanging, cut-glass chandeliers (replacing those which had hung since 1834); pearl gray and gilt wallpaper, and wall-to-wall carpeting in a floral pattern completed the redecoration. Much of the furniture in the room was sold at public auction (a common and unremarkable practice until the 20th century). The architects called the style "Pure Greek", and architectural historian Patrick Phillips-Schrock called it "sumptuous", but it was widely derided as "Steamboat Gothic". Nellie Grant's lavish wedding took place in the East Room on May 21, 1874.


Late 19th century changes

President
Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A ...
hired the Washington, D.C., firm of W. B. Moses & Son to redecorate much of the White House in 1881, including the East Room. Moses & Son added new window curtains and drapes, and a suite of ebony furniture carved in a Japanese style. This suite included sofas, arm chairs, side chairs, and corner chairs. Arthur then auctioned off an immense quantity of older White House furnishings in April 1882, including some amount of undescribed older furniture from the East Room. Desiring an even grander approach to the public rooms, Arthur hired Tiffany & Co. in 1882 to redecorate the East Room yet again. Most of this work involved painting and regilding, however. No new furniture was ordered, and the over-mantel and pier mirrors reframed or regilded. President Grover Cleveland made no changes to the East Room, although a divan upholstered in gold was added below the main chandelier. It was supplied by W. H. Houghton & Co. of Washington, D.C. Cleveland's successor,
Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pre ...
, refurbished most of the State Floor rooms again in 1891 after the White House was wired for electricity. W. H. Post & Co. of Hartford, Connecticut, did the work. The ceiling was repainted, the wallpaper replaced, and new silk damask curtains installed. The furniture in the East Room was reupholstered as well in a gold
brocatelle Brocatelle is a silk-rich fabric with heavy brocade designs. The material is characterized by satin effects standing out in relief in the warp against a flat ground. It is produced with jacquard weave by using silk, rayon, cotton, or many synt ...
(a brocade with the design in high relief). A new Axminster carpet, in size, was also laid down. When
Caroline Harrison Caroline Lavinia Harrison (; October 10, 1832 – October 25, 1892) was an American music teacher and the first lady of the United States from 1889 until her death. She was married to President Benjamin Harrison, and she was the second first l ...
died on October 25, 1892 (two weeks before the presidential election), her funeral was held in the East Room. Two
Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for it ...
vases (on marble pedestals) were added to the East Room in 1897. They were a gift of the government of France to mark the laying of the Franco-American transatlantic telegraph cable that year.


1902 Roosevelt restoration

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt engaged the architectural firm of
McKim, Meade & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...
to renovate and expand the White House. Their intention was three-fold: To modernize the White House, to establish a decorating motif that would never have to be altered, and to recreate the White House's early American interiors. Although this last guideline was followed in most rooms, it was not in the East Room. McKim, Meade & White drew their inspiration for the East Room from British and French manor house interiors of the 1790s. Nonetheless, the
Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...
style was more of an idealized than historically accurate aesthetic, and McKim, Mead & White's interiors reflected a tendency toward light-filled spaces and away from patterns and "busy" or cluttered spaces. As the East Room had not been decorated until 1829, the architects took some liberties, devising a room based on the 1780 Louis XVI style ''salon de famille'' in the
Château de Compiègne The Château de 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. It is located in Compiègne ...
. For the walls, the designers chose pilasters carved by
Herter Brothers Herter is a German occupational surname for a herdsman. Notable people with the surname include: * Albert Herter (1871–1950), American painter; son of Christian, the furniture maker * Christian Herter (1895–1966), American politician; son of ...
of New York City, which appeared to support Neoclassical entablatures. There were 12 faux entablatures, each made of marble and depicting scenes from
Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to m ...
. They were designed by Leon Marcotte of L. Marcotte & Co. of New York, and carved by the
Piccirilli Brothers The Piccirilli brothers were an Italian family of renowned marble carvers and sculptors who carved many of the most significant marble sculptures in the United States, including Daniel Chester French’s colossal ''Abraham Lincoln'' (1920) in the ...
of New York City. The rest of the walls were painted cream white, and adorned with gilded sconces (supplied by the lighting firm of Edward F. Caldwell & Co.) and gold wall hangings. McKim, Meade & White strongly disliked the East Room's four fireplaces, which divided the area into three spaces. The fireplaces and mantels, which projected about , were considerably reduced in depth to just . The mantels were replaced with new ones in the Georgian style. The marble for each mantel came from a different state, and each was a different color. Marcotte & Co. also designed, manufactured, and installed gilded ceiling decorations. The central section of the ceiling was decorated with a large plaster panel featuring an intricate
medallion A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...
flanked by swags, acanthus, escutcheons, and scrollwork. A border of acanthus, scrollwork, and
egg-and-dart Egg-and-dart, also known as egg-and-tongue, egg-and-anchor, or egg-and-star, is an ornamental device adorning the fundamental quarter-round, convex ovolo profile of moulding, consisting of alternating details on the face of the ovolo—typically ...
moldings bordered the section. On the narrow ends of the room were smaller sections, similarly decorated. Hanging from the ceiling were three large Bohemian crystal chandeliers. These replaced the larger, out-of-style chandeliers placed there in 1873 during the Grant administration. The tent-and-bowl chandeliers were also provided by Caldwell & Co. but manufactured by Christoph Palme & Co. of Parchen,
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohe ...
,
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...
. Their design was copied from 18th century English and French chandeliers. Each chandelier weighed more than , was high, and had 7,000 glass pieces. Caldwell & Co. also designed four gilded bronze floor lamps in the
Louis XVI style Louis XVI style, also called ''Louis Seize'', is a style of architecture, furniture, decoration and art which developed in France during the 19-year reign of Louis XVI (1774–1793), just before the French Revolution. It saw the final phase of t ...
, and four floor candelabra in the Empire style with Egyptian Revival elements (such as winged lions). The floor of the East Room was replaced with oak parquet, and trimmed in red Numidian marble from North Africa. (A box made from the old parquet floor was donated to the White House during the Jimmy Carter administration.) In addition to the wall hangings, McKim, Meade & White commissioned a wide range of other furnishings more in line with their Louis XVI style ''salon de famille'' style. Marcotte and Co. supplied heavy velvet gold drapes, and topped each window with carved and gilded cornices of the company's own design. The existing pier tables were removed, and four richly carved and gilded Louis XVI Revival style console tables, also designed by Marcotte & Co., were placed between the pilasters. The existing seating was also removed, and Marcotte & Co. replaced it with 13 Louis XVI Revival gilded banquettes (upholstered benches). Marcotte & Co. also supplied new ornate gilded frames for each over-mantel mirror. A few items in the room were reused, however. These included the mantel candelabra, manufactured by Russell & LaFarge and purchased in the Monroe administration in 1817. A personal inspection by
Charles Follen McKim Charles Follen McKim (August 24, 1847 – September 14, 1909) was an American Beaux-Arts architect of the late 19th century. Along with William Rutherford Mead and Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the partn ...
also found the East Room clearly sinking. The problem, not rectified until 1952, was that the interior walls rested on brick columns in the basement, which themselves were sitting on loose rubble footings atop soft soil. The columns were sinking into the soil under the mansion's weight. But forced by Roosevelt to finish the restoration as quickly as possible, McKim was unable to make any structural changes to solve the problem.


Post-1902 early 20th century changes

The East Room chandeliers were altered in 1903 to reduce their diameter slightly to , leaving them with just 6,000 glass pieces. The renovated chandelier weight dropped to . That same year, the Steinway & Sons piano company donated an ornate gilded
grand piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
to the White House. This piano (serial number 100,000) was placed in the East Room. During Roosevelt's term, the government of France donated Limoges porcelain busts of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading intel ...
to the White House. These were also placed in the East Room. Slight changes were made to the East Room during the
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
administration.
Ellen Axson Wilson Ellen Louise Wilson (née Axson; May 15, 1860 – August 6, 1914) was the first wife of President Woodrow Wilson and the mother of their three daughters. Like her husband, she was a Southerner, as well as the daughter of a clergyman. She was ...
, the president's first wife, made almost no changes to the room. She died in 1914, just two years into Wilson's first term. Wilson remarried a year later, and the new First Lady,
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson Edith Wilson ( Bolling, formerly Galt; October 15, 1872 – December 28, 1961) was the first lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921 and the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She married the widower Wilson in December 1915, during his ...
, had the 1902 drapes replaced. In the early 1930s, First Lady
Lou Henry Hoover Lou Hoover (née Henry; March 29, 1874 – January 7, 1944) was an American philanthropist, geologist, and First Lady of the United States from 1929 to 1933 as the wife of President Herbert Hoover. She was active in numerous community organizatio ...
purchased a number of gilt upholstered dining room chairs in something approaching an
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
style for use in the East Room. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As th ...
did little to either renovate or maintain the White House during his unusually long tenure. Roosevelt believed that the White House should "do its part" during the Great Depression and World War II, and economize by minimizing expenditures. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt had little interest in redecorating, and little in the way of social engagements occurred during the war. One of the few revisions came in the East Room, where the Vollmer suite of furniture was moved from the Blue Room. Steinway & Sons donated a second grand piano to the White House in 1938. Steinway historians Miles Chapin and Rodica Prato call it the "best-known art-case Steinway" in the world. Architect Eric Gugler designed the , mahogany case piano (serial number 300,000). The case is decorated with scenes depicting American music and dance, each gilded in gold leaf. The tableaux, designed by artist Dunbar Beck, depict people dancing the
Virginia reel Virginia Reel can refer to any of the following: * Virginia Reel (solitaire), a solitaire card game *Virginia reel (dance) The Virginia reel is a folk dance that dates from the 17th century. Though the reel may have its origins in Scottish coun ...
, chanting by Native Americans, cowboys singing during a
cattle drive A cattle drive is the process of moving a herd of cattle from one place to another, usually moved and herded by cowboys on horses. Europe In medieval central Europe, annual cattle drives brought Hungarian Grey cattle across the Danube River ...
, a
barn dance A barn dance is any kind of dance involving traditional or folk music with traditional dancing, occasionally held in a barn, but, these days, much more likely to be in any suitable building. The term “barn dance” is usually associated w ...
, and African American slaves singing in the fields. The legs of the piano feature gilded eagles, designed and carved by Albert Stewart. (Steinway & Sons completely refurbished the piano in 1992.) Eleanor Roosevelt also changed the draperies in the East Room from gold to crimson.


1952 Truman restoration

By the late 1940s, the East Room—along with the rest of the White House—was in such poor shape that its structural integrity was at risk. President Harry S. Truman was attending a concert in the East Room on February 11, 1947, when he was informed that the ceiling of the room was being pulled down by the weight of the chandeliers. The following day, the chandeliers were taken down. On October 26, 1948, plaster fell from the ceiling of the East Room, exposing a crack in the ceiling. Engineers discovered that the ceiling had also dropped by . The East Room was cleared of all furniture, and floor-to-ceiling X-shaped wooden braces erected in the room to stabilize it. The room was then sealed off. Engineers with the Public Building Administration and White House staff feared the entire building could collapse. President and Mrs. Truman left the White House on September 27, 1948, for a 45-day nationwide political barnstorming tour. When they returned to the White House on November 5, they were immediately informed that the White House had to be evacuated. The White House was closed to the public on November 7, and after a two-week vacation in Key West, Florida, the Trumans moved into Blair House on November 21, 1948. During the Truman White House reconstruction that began in 1949, the East Room was found to be in very poor condition. Previous renovations had seriously damaged the interior walls. In one section of wall, no fewer than five doors had been cut through the masonry, severely weakening it. Paneling, windows, and furnishings were dismantled, numbered, and stored. Although great care was taken in removing the plasterwork, there was no way to avoid cracking it during removal. Molds were made from the originals, and new plasterwork installed. Even so, architect Lorenzo Winslow simplified many of the designs before they were cast, allegedly to make them look less Renaissance Revival and more "American". Less care was taken in removing the woodwork, some of which was damaged when pried loose. Other pieces were too brittle to be reused, and what could be reused had to be restored (often by removing many layers of paint). But by late 1951, with the White House renovation months behind, costs soaring, and President Truman demanding that the work be sped up, workers found it easier to machine new pieces than restore old wood. All of the paneling for the East Room was condemned as unfit for reuse, whether it was actually unusable or not, and replaced with new wood. (Although some of the East Room woodwork would be chopped up for souvenirs, most of it was used as landfill at
Fort Myer Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and Fort Whippl ...
in
Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...
.) The new panelling was also simpler and had considerably less presence, and was covered in a somewhat lighter color than the 1902 paint. A simpler crown molding and ceiling medallions were also installed. The Herter pilasters and Piccirilli marble panels were either lost or too damaged to be reused during removal, and their fate remains unclear. To cut costs, the replacement entablature was made of a composite glue and sawdust mixture pressed into forms rather than carved from wood. While the feeling was similar, the robust architectural effect was diminished. Red marble mantels were installed, and the remaining Venetian window in the room was narrowed to help create the "American" feel. (The 1902 mantels were given away.) The East Room's chandeliers were rewired and cleaned. The size of the large chandeliers was reduced by several inches, assuming their correct size ( wide and high). They were also outfitted with softer internal illumination, and the chains holding the chandeliers shortened. The East Room also had a new parquet floor in a style taken from a design at the Palace of Fontainebleau, and silk curtains over the windows. The Truman administration did not seek, nor did it receive, many donations of furniture for the White House during the 1952 renovation. But two items were received which made it into the East Room. These were mid-17th century
Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as ...
cambelback sofas, which were placed beneath the George and Martha Washington paintings.


Post-1952 refurbishments


Kennedy refurbishment

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...
made extensive renovations to the White House in 1961 and 1962. Her renovation was overseen by American antiques
autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...
Henry Francis du Pont and French interior designer
Stéphane Boudin Stéphane Boudin (28 October 1888 – 18 October 1967) 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. First Lady Jacqueline Kenne ...
and his company,
Maison Jansen Maison Jansen (; en, House of Jansen) was a Paris-based interior decoration office founded in 1880 by Dutch-born Jean-Henri Jansen. Jansen is considered the first truly global design firm, serving clients in Europe, Latin America, North America a ...
. Although many rooms were extensively altered by du Pont and Boudin, the Kennedy restoration made almost no changes to the East Room. The biggest change to the room was in the window treatments. Jacqueline Kennedy specifically asked for new curtains for the East Room consisting of opaque silk undercurtains and yellow drapes. Boudin oversaw the design of new draperies, with silk provided by Maison Jansen. A draft design of the drapes and valances was not ready until mid-1963. Boudin, apparently wishing to draw attention to the center window between the fireplaces, designed a valance for the center window while putting all other drapes behind window boxes. For the drapes, Boudin suggested a braid border and tie-backs made of ball fringe covered in satin. Kennedy disapproved of Boudin's proposal for the valance and window boxes, as it did not make use of the historic 1902 gilt window cornices. She did, however, approve of the fabric and tie-backs. Made of a custom-manufactured gold and cream silk
lampas Lampas is a type of luxury fabric with a background weft (a "ground weave") typically in taffeta with supplementary wefts (the "pattern wefts") laid on top and forming a design, sometimes also with a " brocading weft". Lampas is typically woven i ...
, the fabric contained a non-repetitive design of birds, butterflies, cupids, flowers, medallions, roosters, and wheat and featured heavy fringe at the bottom. The drapes were hung in straight panels from the carved and gilded 1902 wooden cornices. The design of the valances was not finalized until April 1964. First Lady Lady Bird Johnson asked Jacqueline Kennedy to assist her in finalizing the design. Originally, they were to be of
brocatelle Brocatelle is a silk-rich fabric with heavy brocade designs. The material is characterized by satin effects standing out in relief in the warp against a flat ground. It is produced with jacquard weave by using silk, rayon, cotton, or many synt ...
, a jacquard weave fabric similar to brocade but thicker and heavier and with designs in
high relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
. But this design was countermanded by Boudin. Instead, gold lampas, trimmed with braid and hemmed with gilt, spun-metal twisted fringe at the bottom, was installed in flat panels from behind each cornice. The curtains and valances took nearly three years to design and manufacture, and were not hung in the room until the Johnson administration in 1965. The drapes and valances cost $26,149. The cost was covered by sales of Jacqueline Kennedy's guidebook to the White House, which by 1965 was in its fourth edition. Another major change involved the fireplace mantels, which were painted at Boudin's request to appear like white marble, unifying the look of the room. The Kennedy administration was the first to permit smoking in rooms on the State floor. To accommodate smoking, Jacqueline Kennedy wanted portable ashtrays for the East Room. She initially considered modified versions of ashtrays seen at the home of her friend,
Bunny Mellon Rachel Lambert Mellon (August 9, 1910 – March 17, 2014), often known as Bunny Mellon, was an American horticulturalist, gardener, philanthropist, and art collector. She designed and planted a number of significant gardens, including the Whi ...
, but rejected this idea in favor of a unique design. Maison Jansen designed stands which featured brass legs shaped like bamboo, brass handles, and Carrara glass tops. The ashtrays cost $280, were manufactured in Maison Jansen's New York City office, and delivered in January 1963. Finding the cost too high (and without any economy of scale cost-savings), Kennedy then designed her own portable standing ashtrays. Twenty were eventually manufactured out of dark wood by White House carpenters, although the gray granite tops for the Kennedy-designed ashtrays were made by Jansen at a cost of $310. Much of the furniture in the East Room was removed by Boudin to make the room appear to be of a single historic era. The 1902 console tables were removed from the piers between the windows, and the 1902 Louis XVI style floor lamps moved out of the corners and in front of the piers. The 1952 Adam-style camelback sofas were removed at the instigation of du Pont, and replaced with gilt benches. Research conducted by White House Curator Lorraine Waxman Pearce and Jacqueline Kennedy identified the four Monroe-era candelabra (which had been moved), and restored them to the mantels in the room's southern wall. Early 19th-century crystal candelabra (of an indeterminate manufacture) were placed on the mantels on the room's northern wall. To complement the paintings of George and Martha Washington, Jacqueline Kennedy was loaned portraits of a young
Bushrod Washington Bushrod Washington (June 5, 1762 – November 26, 1829) was an American attorney and politician who served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1798 to 1829. On the Supreme Court, he was a staunch ally of Ch ...
(George Washington's nephew and an Associate Supreme Court Justice) and his wife, Julia Ann Blackburn Washington. These portraits by Chester Harding were hung on the east wall. Kennedy's friend,
Jayne Wrightsman Jayne Kirkman Wrightsman (née Larkin; October 21, 1919 – April 20, 2019) was an American philanthropist, arts collector and widow of Charles B. Wrightsman (1895–1986). She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in ...
, donated two early 19th-century wall sconces, which were wired for electricity by White House staff and hung on either side of the center window. Jacqueline Kennedy also conceived the idea of constructing a portable stage for use in the East Room. Designed by ballet impresario Lincoln Kirstein and constructed by White House carpenters, the stage was clad in red velvet, small, and easily portable. It was stored off-site in a government warehouse, and took three men eight hours to retrieve, set up, clean, and prepare for performances. The Kennedys often provided entertainment in the East Room after formal dinners, which necessitated finding seating for these events. The Hoover Art Deco dining room chairs (which by 1961 had been moved to the White House theater) were used for this purpose. Additional seating was provided by cushioned bentwood chairs with canework backs (which had long been owned by the White House but whose provenance was unclear).


Johnson and Carter administration alterations

While the Kennedy stage was fine for the small, intimate performances in the East Room which the Kennedys favored, the President Lyndon B. Johnson and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson favored larger, more elaborate performances. Ballet patron
Rebekah Harkness Rebekah West Harkness (née Semple West; April 17, 1915June 17, 1982) also known as Betty Harkness, was an American composer, socialite, sculptor, dance patron, and philanthropist who founded the Harkness Ballet. In 1947, she married William Hal ...
learned of the Johnsons' desire for a larger stage, and contacted noted ballet and theatrical designer
Jo Mielziner Joseph "Jo" Mielziner (March 19, 1901 – March 15, 1976) was an American theatrical scenic, and lighting designer born in Paris, France. He was described as "the most successful set designer of the Golden era of Broadway", and worked on both sta ...
to design something. Mielziner crafted a stage which took up a full third of the East Room, and featured cream white-painted pilasters matching the room's architecture. Mileziner originally wanted the stage's curtains to have the same fabric used for the East Room drapes. But when he learned of the cost, he settled for American-made gold silk curtains instead. The larger stage took eight men three days to set up. In 1964, President Johnson issued an executive order creating a new Committee for the Preservation of the White House. This body was tasked with advising the President and First Lady on the decor, preservation, and conservation of the East Room and other public rooms at the White House. The committee has met continuously since then, except for the period 1981 to 1988. In 1967, the government of Italy donated a late 18th-century carved wood and terra cotta
nativity scene In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christmas season, of art objects rep ...
to the White House. This 30-piece creche, manufactured in Naples and with the figures clad in original hand-sewn fabrics, was placed on view in the East Room during the
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
season, and it has been erected there every holiday season since. Ten additional antique Italian nativity figures were donated to the East Room creche set during the Carter administration. The East Room flooring was replaced in 1978 during the Carter administration. Years of wear and tear had nearly worn through the parquet.


Reagan, Clinton, and Bush refurbishments

In 1981, the Reagan administration undertook a private fund-raising campaign to extensively renovate the White House. Hoping to raise $200,000, the project raised $822,641, and Nancy Reagan oversaw a $730,000 project which largely renovated the private living quarters and restored hundreds of antique furniture items throughout the Executive Mansion. The floors, paneling, and plasterwork in the room all were assessed and underwent conservation to ensure their longevity. Mrs. Reagan made only minor improvements to the East Room, however. These included repainting the room (it retained its warm cream color), and adding gold silk swag valances over the draperies. Over-draperies, ordered in the Carter administration, were also replaced in the East Room during the Reagan administration, at a cost of $130,000. During the Clinton administration, the faux white marble finish painted on the mantels and baseboards in the 1960s was removed to reveal the original "rouge antique" (reddish) marble from Vermont installed during the White House's renovation in 1951. Although the East Room's oak floors had been bare since 1903, three matching $259,330 wool carpets were installed in February 1995. These carpets, ordered in 1990, were designed to reflect the plaster ceiling moldings created during the
John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...
administration in the late 1820s. Woven by Edward Fields Inc. of New York and paid for with private donations raised by the White House Endowment Fund, the carpets were designed to cover most of the floor to protect it from dirt and the occasional pebble stuck in the tread of a shoe. Minor refurbishment was made to the East Room in September 2003 during the administration of
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
. The Committee for the Preservation of the White House had become dissatisifed with the golden silk swag valances installed during the Reagan presidency. The Kennedy-era Empire-style gold draperies were replaced with nearly identical ones, but the swags were made deeper to make them appear more substantial. The room was repainted in the same warm cream color it had for the last century. The refurbishment cost $200,000, and was paid for by private donations to the White House Endowment Fund.


Notable events in the East Room

The East Room is used for a wide range of events, which include the swearing-in of
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
members and justices of the Supreme Court, press conferences, the signing of legislation, receptions for foreign dignitaries.


Presidential funerals and lying in repose

Eight presidents have died in office. All but one (
James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...
) lay in repose or had a funeral in the East Room. Presidential funerary events held in the East Room comprise: * William Henry Harrison – Harrison's body lay in repose for just under three days in the East Room. An
Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...
funeral service was read over Harrison's body on April 7, 1841. * Zachary Taylor – Taylor's body lay in repose for slightly more than three days in the East Room. An Episcopal funeral service was read over Taylor's body on July 13, 1850. *
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
– Lincoln's body lay in repose for four days in the East Room. A Presbyterian funeral service was read over Lincoln's body on April 19, 1865. *
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
– McKinley's body arrived in the East Room about 9:00 p.m. on September 16, 1901. He lay in repose until about 8:00 a.m. on September 17, when his remains were removed to the United States Capitol rotunda for a funeral. * Warren G. Harding – Harding's body lay in repose in the East Room beginning about 11:00 p.m. on August 7, 1923. At 10:00 a.m. on August 8, his remains were removed to the Capitol rotunda for a funeral. *
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As th ...
– Roosevelt's body lay in repose in the East Room beginning about 11:00 a.m. on April 14, 1945. An Episcopal funeral service was read over his body at 4:00 p.m. that same day. The service lasted 25 minutes, and Roosevelt lay in repose from 4:30 p.m. until about 9:00 p.m., when his casket was removed to Union Station for the train ride to
Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park (CDP), New York, Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland, New York, Haviland. ...
. *
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
– Kennedy's body lay in repose in the East Room beginning about 4:40 a.m. on November 23, 1963. A blessing was said by a Roman Catholic priest at 5:00 a.m. on November 23, but the Mass at 10:00 a.m. was held in the
State Dining Room 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 dinn ...
rather than East Room. A second Mass (not a
funeral Mass A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
), for Kennedy family members and close friends, occurred in the East Room at 11:15 a.m. on November 24. Kennedy's casket was removed from the East Room at about 1:00 p.m.


First Family funerals

In addition to Presidents, several members of First Families have died while living in the White House. Funerals held in the East Room for family members include: *
Letitia Tyler Letitia Tyler ( ''née'' Christian; November 12, 1790 – September 10, 1842) was the first wife of President John Tyler and first lady of the United States from 1841 to 1842. She married Tyler, then a law student, in 1808 at Cedar Grove, her f ...
– An Episcopal funeral service for her was held in the East Room on September 12, 1842. * Willie Lincoln – Lincoln's body lay in repose in the Green Room of the White House until his burial. A Presbyterian funeral service for him was held in the East Room on February 21, 1862. (Pointedly, his family asked that his casket not be moved to the East Room for the service.) *
Caroline Harrison Caroline Lavinia Harrison (; October 10, 1832 – October 25, 1892) was an American music teacher and the first lady of the United States from 1889 until her death. She was married to President Benjamin Harrison, and she was the second first l ...
– A Presbyterian funeral service for her was held in the East Room on October 27, 1892. *
Ellen Axson Wilson Ellen Louise Wilson (née Axson; May 15, 1860 – August 6, 1914) was the first wife of President Woodrow Wilson and the mother of their three daughters. Like her husband, she was a Southerner, as well as the daughter of a clergyman. She was ...
– A Presbyterian funeral service for her was held in the East Room on August 10, 1914. * Calvin Coolidge Jr. – A Congregationalist funeral service for him was held in the East Room on July 9, 1924. * Robert Trump - A funeral service was held for him in the East Room on August 21, 2020.


Weddings

As of 2007, the White House had seen 17 weddings. Seven have occurred in the Blue Room, seven in the East Room, two in the Rose Garden, and one in the
Yellow Oval Room 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 ...
. The East Room weddings include: * Mary A. Eastin, niece of First Lady
Rachel Jackson Rachel Jackson ( ''née'' Donelson; June 15, 1767 – December 22, 1828) was the wife of Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States.
, to Lucius J. Polk, a Tennessee cotton planter and state legislator, on April 10, 1832. * Mary Anne Lewis, daughter of one of President Jackson's U.S. Army friends, married Alphonse Pageot,
chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassado ...
at the Embassy of France, on November 29, 1832. * Elizabeth Tyler, daughter of President
John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president in 1841. He was elected vice president on the 1840 Whig ticke ...
, married William Waller, Virginia businessman, on January 31, 1842. * Nellie Grant, daughter of President Grant, married Algernon Sartoris, wealthy English singer and son of
Adelaide Kemble Adelaide Kemble (13 February 18154 August 1879) was an English opera singer of the Victorian era, and a member of the Kemble family of actors. She was the younger sister of Fanny Kemble, the famous actress and anti-slavery activist. Her father wa ...
, on May 21, 1874. *
Alice Roosevelt Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth (February 12, 1884 – February 20, 1980) was an American writer and socialite. She was the eldest child of U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt and his only child with his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt. Lo ...
, daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, married Representative
Nicholas Longworth Nicholas Longworth III (November 5, 1869 – April 9, 1931) was an American politician who became Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He was a Republican. A lawyer by training, he was elected to the Ohio Senate, where he init ...
, on February 17, 1906. * Jessie Wilson, daughter of President Wilson, married diplomat Francis Bowes Sayre Sr. on November 25, 1913. *
Lynda Bird Johnson Lynda Bird Johnson Robb (born March 19, 1944) is the elder daughter of the 36th U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. She served as chairwoman of the Board of Reading is Fundamental, the nation's largest chil ...
, daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson married Chuck Robb, a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in the United States Marine Corps and future Senator from Virginia, on December 9, 1967.


Other important East Room events

East Room has served as the site of many important ceremonies, legislation and treaty signings, and other events. Some of these are: * 1860 – 15th President James Buchanan received the first diplomatic mission from Japan in the East Room on May 18. * 1861 – The funeral of Colonel
Elmer E. Ellsworth Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth (April 11, 1837 – May 24, 1861) was a United States Army officer and law clerk who was the first conspicuous casualty and the first Union officer to die in the American Civil War. He was killed while removin ...
, the first Union Army soldier to die in the American Civil War, was held in the East Room on May 25. Ellsworth, commander of the
11th New York Infantry The 11th New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Union Army in the early years of the American Civil War. The regiment was organized in New York City in May 1861 as a Zouave regiment, known for its unusual dress and drill st ...
("Fire Zouaves"), had become a close friend of Lincoln's, who wept when he learned of Ellsworth's death. * 1890 – The funerals of Mrs. Delinda Catlin Tracy, 57 and Miss Mary Farrington Tracy, 35, were held in the East Room on February 3. They were the wife and daughter of Secretary of the Navy
Benjamin F. Tracy Benjamin Franklin Tracy (April 26, 1830August 6, 1915) was a United States political figure who served as Secretary of the Navy from 1889 through 1893, during the administration of U.S. President Benjamin Harrison. Biography He was born in th ...
, and died in a fire at their home two blocks from the White House on February 3. Tracy himself would have died of
smoke inhalation Smoke inhalation is the breathing in of harmful fumes (produced as by-products of combusting substances) through the respiratory tract. This can cause smoke inhalation injury (subtype of acute inhalation injury) which is damage to the respirator ...
trying to rescue them had not President Benjamin Harrison rushed to the scene and revived him. * 1929 – President Calvin Coolidge signed the
Kellogg–Briand Pact The Kellogg–Briand Pact or Pact of Paris – officially the General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy – is a 1928 international agreement on peace in which signatory states promised not to use war to ...
in the East Room on January 17. President Herbert Hoover then met with representatives of the governments that ratified the Kellogg-Briand Pact in the East Room on July 24. * 1936 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt presided over a
state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...
in the East Room for his long-time advisor Louis Howe on April 21. * 1943 – The agreement establishing the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration was signed in the East Room by representatives from 44 nations on November 9. * 1957 – President
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
took the presidential oath of office in the East Room on January 20. The
Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...
requires the oath to be administered at noon on January 20. But since this was a Sunday, Eisenhower took the oath in private at the required time. A public inauguration was held the following day. * 1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requi ...
in the East Room on July 2. The ceremony was nationally televised, and more than 100 Senators and civil rights leaders attended the event. * 1973 – President Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev, leader of the Soviet Union, signed the Scientific and Technical Cooperation Agreement in the Field of Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. in the East Room on June 21. * 1974 – President Nixon gave a farewell address to the White House staff in the East Room at 9:00 a.m. on August 9. His resignation as President of the United States became effective at 11:35 a.m. when it was received by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Vice President Gerald Ford took the presidential oath of office in the East Room at 12:03 p.m. the same day. * 1976 – President Ford signed the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty in the East Room on May 28 while, simultaneously, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the treaty in Moscow. * 1978 – President Carter, Egyptian President
Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...
, and Israeli Prime Minister
Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...
signed the
Camp David Accords The Camp David Accords were a pair of political agreements signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on 17 September 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David, the country retreat ...
in the East Room on September 17 at 11:00 p.m. * 1987 – President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty, formally the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles; / ДРСМ� ...
(INF Treaty) in the East Room on December 8. * 1990 – President George H. W. Bush and
Soviet President The president of the Soviet Union (russian: Президент Советского Союза, Prezident Sovetskogo Soyuza), officially the president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (), abbreviated as president of the USSR (), was ...
Gorbachev signed five treaties in the East Room on June 2: the 1990 Chemical Weapons Accord, the
USSR–USA Maritime Boundary Agreement The Russia–United States maritime boundary was established by the June 1, 1990 USA/USSR Maritime Boundary Agreement (since Russia declared itself to be the successor of the Soviet Union). The United States Senate gave its advice and consent to ...
, new protocols governing the 1974 Threshold Test Ban Treaty and Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty, and the Agreement on Trade Relations Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (which provided for reciprocal Most Favored Nation status for the Soviet Union, improved market access in the Soviet Union for U.S. goods and services, freer operation of U.S. commercial representations in the USSR, and stronger intellectual property rights protection). * 2011 – President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
announced the death of Osama bin Laden in the East Room on May 2.


In popular culture

The East Room has appeared in a number of motion pictures about the president of the United States. It is one of the most commonly depicted spaces in the White House, along with the
Entrance Hall The Entrance Hall (also called the Grand Foyer) 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. ...
,
Cross Hall 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 lin ...
, and West Sitting Hall. Accuracy in its depiction has generally been good. One outstanding example is the 1944 biographical picture ''
Wilson Wilson may refer to: People *Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson R ...
'', which was extremely accurate (even down to the style of paneling). The film's
art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...
Wiard Ihnen Wiard Boppo "Bill" Ihnen (August 5, 1897Note: His obituary in the ''Los Angeles Times'' suggests he was born in approximately 1888. – June 22, 1979) was an American art director. He was active from 1919 to 1960 and won Academy Awards for ...
and
set decorator The set decorator is the head of the set decoration department in the film and television industry, responsible for selecting, designing, fabricating, and sourcing the "set dressing" elements of each set in a Feature Film, Television, or New Media ...
Thomas Little Thomas Little (August 27, 1886 in Ogden, Utah – March 5, 1985 in Santa Monica, California) was a United States set decorator who worked on more than 450 Hollywood movies between 1932 and 1953. He won a total of 6 Oscars for art direction and ...
won an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for their work on the film. Many recent films have used Zuber wallpaper to depict the East Room—the same wallpaper purchased by Jacqueline Kennedy during the East Room's 1963 redecoration. President Bill Clinton gave the producers of the 1995 film ''
The American President ''The American President'' is a 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin. The film stars Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox, and Richard Dreyfuss. In th ...
'' extensive access to the White House, which allowed them to create a superb replica of the East Room as well. Far less successful was the 2005 television series '' Commander in Chief'', which depicted the East Room as a kind of shabby hotel lobby. A life-size copy of the East Room was built at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. It is only a casual copy, and not completely accurate in its details. The East Room made the news on September 29, 2014, after '' The Washington Post'' revealed that Omar J. Gonzalez had run through the room during his September 19, 2014, intrusion at the White House. Initially, the United States Secret Service reported that Gonzalez, who jumped the fence at the North Lawn and raced to the mansion, had only gotten a few steps into the
Entrance Hall The Entrance Hall (also called the Grand Foyer) 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. ...
. But the ''Post'' revealed that the knife-wielding Gonzalez knocked down a Secret Service agent, ran into the
Cross Hall 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 lin ...
, and ran through the East Room before being tackled by a counter-assault agent at the door leading to the Green Room.


References


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* Abbott, James A. ''A Frenchman in Camelot: The Decoration of the Kennedy White House by Stéphane Boudin.'' Boscobel Restoration Inc.: 1995. . * Clinton, Hillary Rodham. '' An Invitation to the White House: At Home with History.'' Simon & Schuster: 2000. . * Seale, William. ''The President's House.'' White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 1986. . * Seale, William, ''The White House: The History of an American Idea.'' White House Historical Association: 1992, 2001. . * ''The White House: An Historic Guide.'' White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. .


External links


White House Museum: East Room
floor plan and historical photographs {{coord, 38, 53, 52, N, 77, 02, 11, W, region:US-DC_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Articles containing video clips Rooms in the White House