The White House Historical Association, founded in 1961 through efforts of First Lady
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 ...
, is a private, non-profit organization that works to preserve the history of the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...
and make that history more accessible to the public. , the president of the association is Stewart McLaurin.
History
After moving into the White House in 1961, Jacqueline Kennedy founded the White House Historical Association, which was chartered on November 3 of that year. The goals of the association were to raise private funds for maintaining and renovating the White House and to create an official White House guidebook.
In 1981, under First Lady
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan.
Reagan was born in Ne ...
, the association began its current practice of selling a unique White House
Christmas ornament
Christmas ornaments, baubles, "Christmas bulbs" or "Christmas bubbles" are decoration items, usually to decorate Christmas trees. These decorations may be woven, blown (glass or plastic), molded (ceramic or metal), carved from wood or exp ...
to the public each year. Beginning in 1982, each year's ornament honors a different president. Since 1981, the ornaments are primarily manufactured at
Beacon Design by ChemArt
A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...
in
Lincoln, Rhode Island
Lincoln is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,529 at the 2020 census. Lincoln is located in northeastern Rhode Island, north of Providence. Lincoln is part of the Providence metropolitan statistical a ...
. , hundreds of thousands of ornaments are sold each year. The White House Historical Association also produces the wooden eggs distributed during the annual White House
Easter Egg Roll
Egg rolling, or an Easter egg roll is a traditional game played with eggs at Easter. Different nations have different versions of the game, usually played with hard-boiled, decorated eggs.
History
In Christianity, for the celebration of East ...
.
Financier and former White House staffer
David M. Rubenstein
David Mark Rubenstein (born August 11, 1949) is an American billionaire businessman. A former government official and lawyer, he is a co-founder and co-chairman of the private equity firm The Carlyle Group, In 2016, the association created a Digital Library, currently hosted on
Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Amazon that provides Software as a service, on-demand cloud computing computing platform, platforms and Application programming interface, APIs to individuals, companies, and gover ...
(AWS). The partnership between the association and AWS expanded the following year. In 2018, the association shared a collection of roughly 25,000 photographs of White House history that it had organized and digitized for the first time. The association also created a monthly podcast, called 1600 Sessions, in 2017.
Scope
Maintenance and restoration
In its work, the White House Historical Association collaborates with the
first family
First Family is an unofficial title for the family of a republic's head of state. A first family usually consists of: the head of state, the first spouse and their children.
Related terms
The term ''second family'' is often used to refer to t ...
, the
White House chief usher
The White House chief usher is the head of household staff and operations at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States of America. The position is currently held by Robert B. Downing, wh ...
, and the curator of the White House. The association focuses on maintaining and interpreting the state rooms of the White House
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 ...
and the rest of the
White House Complex
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 ...
tableware
Tableware is any dish or dishware used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. It includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, and other items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variety and number of obj ...
for several presidential administrations and funding one portrait of each President and First Lady. The association also helps fund maintenance and restoration of some rooms of the White House.
Education
The association publishes the official White House guide. In the
White House Visitor Center
The White House Visitors Office is responsible for public tours of the White House, for maintaining a facility where the public can obtain information about the White House, and for other White House events such as the White House Easter Egg Roll ...
, the association operates a gift shop and book store. The association also creates and publishes media on the history, art, and architecture of the White House, and the quarterly journal '' White House History''. , books published by the association had sold more than eight million copies. The association sponsors scholarship, seminars, and exhibitions on the history of the White House. , the association awarded three White House History Fellowships each year in collaboration with the
Organization of American Historians
The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad inc ...
. It operates the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History at Decatur House.
Funding
The majority of the funding for the White House Historical Association comes from private contributions, in addition to corporate contributions and the sale of publications and gift items. The association manages the White House Acquisition Trust and the
White House Endowment Trust The White House Endowment Trust, sometimes also called the White House Endowment Fund, is a private, non-profit, tax-exempt fund established to finance the ongoing restoration and refurbishment of the state rooms at the White House, the official ho ...
.
Leadership
The association’s current president, Stewart McLaurin, has served since 2014, focused on expanding its audiences, educational programming, development base and impact. He is the author of James Hoban: Designer and Builder of the White House.
Previous top executives have been Nash Castro, Daniel E. Davis, Hillory A. Tolson, Bernard R. Meyer and Neil W. Horstman. The current board chair,
John F. W. Rogers
John Francis William Rogers (born April 15, 1956) is an American businessman, serving as Executive Vice President, Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Board of Goldman Sachs.
Early life
Rogers was born in Seneca Falls, New York on April 15, 1956 ...
, has served since January 2022. Previous board chairs were
Fred Ryan
Frederick Joseph Ryan Jr. (born April 12, 1955) is an American media proprietor, political adviser, and lawyer who serves as the publisher and chief executive officer of ''The Washington Post''. He was the president and chief operating officer o ...
,
David E. Finley Jr.
David Edward Finley Jr. (September 1, 1890 – February 1, 1977) was an American cultural leader during the middle third of the 20th century. He was the first director of the National Gallery of Art, the founding chairman of the National Trust f ...
, Dr. Melvin Payne,
Robert L. Breeden
Robert Lewis Breeden (1925–2013) was an editor, publisher, senior executive at the National Geographic Society, and chairman of both the White House Historical Association and U.S. Capitol Historical Society.
Early life
Robert Lewis Breeden ...
,
Hugh Sidey
Hugh Swanson Sidey (September 3, 1927 – November 21, 2005) was an American journalist who worked for ''Life (magazine), Life'' magazine starting in 1955, then moved on to ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine in 1957.
He covered presidents, from E ...