Prior to its inclusion within the fenced compound that now includes the
Old Executive Office Building to the west and the
Treasury Building to the east, this sidewalk served as a queuing area for the daily public tours of the
White House. These tours were suspended in the wake of the
September 11 attacks.
In September 2003, they resumed on a limited basis for groups making prior arrangements through their Congressional representatives or embassies in
Washington for foreign nationals and submitting to background checks, but the White House remains closed to the public.[72]
The White House Complex is protected by the
United States Secret Service and the
United States Park Police.
NASAMS (
Norwegian Advanced
Surface to Air Missile System) were used to guard air space over
Washington, D.C. during the
2005 presidential inauguration. The same NASAMS units have since been used to protect the president and all air space around the White House, which is strictly prohibited to aircraft.[73][74]
White House tours have ended on March 9,
2013 until further notice, due to sequestration.[75]
Pennsylvania Ave in front of the residence was closed down to the public after the
Boston Marathon Bombing and is still closed at of 4-17-13
The Blue Room is one of three state parlors on the first floor in the White House, the residence of the
President of the United States. It is distinct for its oval shape. The room is used for receptions and receiving lines, and is occasionally set for small dinners.
President Grover Cleveland married
Frances Folsom in the room on June 2, 1886, the only wedding of a
President and
First Lady in the White House.[1] The room is traditionally decorated in shades of blue. With the
Yellow Oval Room above it and the
Diplomatic Reception Room below it, the
Blue Room is one of three oval rooms in
James Hoban's original design for the White House.
The room is approximately 30 by 40 feet (
9.1 by 12 m). It has six doors, which open into the
Cross Hall,
Green Room,
Red Room, and
South Portico. The three windows look out upon the
South Lawn.
The Blue Room is furnished in the
French Empire style. A series of redecoratings through the
19th century caused most of the original pieces to be sold or lost.
Today much of the furniture is original to the room. Eight pieces of gilded
European beech furniture purchased during the administration of
James Monroe furnish the room, including a bergère (an armchair with enclosed sides) and several fauteuils (an open wood-frame armchair). The suite of furniture was produced in
Paris around 1812 by the cabinetmaker
Pierre-Antoine Bellangé, and reproduction side chairs and armchairs were made by
Maison Jansen in
1961 during the
Kennedy restoration. A marble-top center table has been in the White House since it was purchased by
Monroe in 1817. A c. 1817 ormolu
French Empire mantel clock with a figure of
Hannibal, by
Deniére et Matelin, sits on the mantel.
The early-19th-century
French chandelier is made of gilded-wood and cut glass, encircled with acanthus leaves.
Acquired during the
Kennedy Administration, it previously hung in the
President's Dining Room on the second floor.
George Peter Alexander Healy's 1859 portrait of
John Tyler hangs on the west wall above the Monroe sofa. The sapphire-blue silk fabric used for the draperies and furniture upholstery was chosen by
Mrs. Clinton. The silk lampas upholstery fabric retains the gold eagle medallion on the chair backs which was adapted from the depiction of one of the Monroe-era chairs in a portrait of James Monroe. The painting however depicts the chair upholstered in crimson, not blue, showing the original color used for the room.
Design of the blue satin draperies is derived from early-19th-century French patterns.
The present drapery design is similar to those installed during the administration of
Richard Nixon.
Clement Conger,
White House Curator at that time, used archive materials from the
Society for the
Protection of
New England Antiquities and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art's
Department of
Decorative Arts as patterns for the drapery.
The walls are hung with a chamois-colored wallpaper imprinted with medallions of burnished gold. It is adapted from an early-19th-century
American Empire wallpaper having French influences. The upper border is a faux printed blue fabric drapery swag. The faux fabric border is similar in effect to an actual fabric border installed during the administration of
John F. Kennedy. The printed dado border along the chair rail is blue and gold with rosettes.
Installation of a new oval carpet, based on early-19th-century designs, completed the renovation project. The design was adapted from an original design for a neoclassical
English carpet from about 1815, the period of the furnishings acquired by Monroe for the Blue Room.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Room_(White_House)
- published: 18 Jun 2012
- views: 11092