• South View of the White House and Conservatories
    Lewis E. Walker
    south view
    greenhouses
    South Lawn
    South Grounds
    Conservatory
    West Wing
    This photograph print presents a south view of the White House and the adjacent Conservatories as they appeared around 1858. The greenhouse complex was connected with the West Terrace so that the first lady could easily gather flowers for social functions. In the late 1860s, President Ulysses S. Grant re-purposed the passageway between the Executive Mansion and the Conservatories into a Billiard Room. The Conservatories were demolished in 1902 and replaced with the West Wing.
  • Inside the White House Conservatory
    American Stereoscopic Company
    Conservatory
    This photograph of the White House Conservatory, filled with chrysanthemums, lilies, and palms, was taken in 1895. The White House conservatories were expansive in the late nineteenth century, maintaining plants of all kinds that bloomed year-round. Though beloved by many presidents, the conservatories were demolished in 1902 as a part of President Theodore Roosevelt's major renovation of the White House.
  • White House Conservatory
    Frances Benjamin Johnston
    conservatory
    This photograph of the White House Conservatory was taken by Frances Benjamin Johnston in 1890. The White House Conservatories were expansive in the late nineteenth century, maintaining plants of all kinds that bloomed year-round. Though beloved by many presidents, the conservatories were demolished in 1902 as a part of Theodore Roosevelt's major renovation of the White House.
  • White House Conservatories
    Unknown
    conservatory
    This photograph is of the White House Conservatories in 1902;specifically, the West Garden facing the State, War and Navy building, now the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. The White House Conservatories were expansive in the late nineteenth century, maintaining plants of all kinds that bloomed year-round. Though beloved by many presidents, the conservatories were demolished in 1902 as a part of President Theodore Roosevelt's major renovation of the White House.
  • Inside the White House Conservatory
    T. W. Ingersoll
    Conservatory
    This photograph was taken inside the White House Conservatory around 1897. The Conservatory was located on the western side of the Executive Mansion, where today the West Colonnade and West Wing reside. The palm in the left foreground is said to have been George Washington's sago palm.
  • Ida Saxton McKinley in the Conservatory
    B. Dinst
    portrait
    Conservatory
    This portrait photograph of First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley was taken as she sat in the White House Conservatory. Mrs. McKinley experienced epileptic seizures and took refuge from the public in the Conservatory because of the greenhouse's privacy and splendor. The more iconic images of Mrs. McKinley show her seated in this favorite spot.
  • The White House "Conservatory Promenade"
    Unknown
    Conservatory
    This photograph taken inside the White House Conservatory captures the footpath that wound around the plants and flowerbeds inside the massive greenhouse. The footpath was coined the "Conservatory Promenade" when it was added during the Rutherford B. Hayes administration. The pathway formed a horseshoe shape and was often featured as part of a tour of the grounds after dinners and parties. The Conservatory resided on the land now occupied by the West Colonnade and West Wing.
  • White House Conservatory
    Lewis E. Walker
    south view
    greenhouses
    Conservatory
    West Wing
    This photograph of the White House Conservatory was taken by Lewis E. Walker between 1857 to 1858. The shot was taken from the South Lawns of the White House Grounds, with the Conservatory situated on what is today the location of the West Colonnade and West Wing. The Conservatory was originally an orangery located on the east side of the Executive Mansion before being moved to the West Terrace during James Buchanan's administration. The room had high, glass ceilings and walls and was reconstructed to include a small, 12 foot passage into the White House. In the late 1860s, President Ulysses S. Grant re-purposed the passageway between the Executive Mansion and the Conservatories into a Billiard Room.
  • The White House Conservatory
    Frances Benjamin Johnston
    Conservatory
    This photograph of the White House Conservatory was taken by Frances Benjamin Johnston. The massive Conservatory contained houses dedicated to specific plants such as orchids, ferns, grapes, geraniums, roses, and camellias and even had a house only for the propagation of plants. The Conservatory was located on what is today the West Colonnade and West Wing of the White House.
  • Miss Lane's Conservatory, at the W.H., Washington
    Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper
    Conservatory
    This lithograph published in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper in 1858 depicts the newly added White House Conservatory. In the print, presumably, is Harriet Lane, President James Buchanan's niece who served as White House hostess during his administration, standing in the Conservatory. The Conservatory was built during Buchanan's administration and stood on the grounds of what is today the West Colonnade and West Wing. The Conservatory had a small, 12 foot passage between the glass room and the Executive Mansion and served as a private space for first families of the era. P. Hall Baglie is credited with the tinting of this lithograph.
  • White House Orchids
    Frances Benjamin Johnston
    Conservatory
    This photograph shows the orchid house that was added to the White House Conservatory complex during the Ulysses S. Grant administration. A tropical flower rare to the United States at the time, orchids underwent a boom in popularity beginning in the mid-1800s. This photograph was taken by the prominent female photographer of the era, Frances Benjamin Johnston, who was known for her portrait and architectural photography and often photographed the White House.
  • Inside the White House Conservatory
    Sterro-Photo Co.
    Conservatory
    This photograph, a stereoscopic view, of the White House Conservatory was taken by the Sterro-Photo Co. of New York. The hand-colored photograph shows an unnamed man standing in the pathway among the large fern collection in the Conservatory. The extensive Conservatory had such a large fern collection that an entire house, the fern house, was dedicated to their housing and maintenance. The Conservatory, located on what is now the West Colonnade and West Wing, also had houses for roses, orchids, geraniums, and camellias, among others.
  • Alice Roosevelt in the White House Conservatory
    Frances Benjamin Johnston
    First Family
    portrait
    Conservatory
    greenhouses
    This portrait photograph by Frances Benjamin Johnston shows Alice Roosevelt, daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, in the White House Conservatory. The conservatory and greenhouses were removed in 1902 to build the West Wing.
  • The Secret Garden: Last Days of an Exotic World, 1902
    Peter Waddell
    conservatory
    This painting by Peter Waddell serves as an interpretation of the White House conservatories, which were removed during the 1902 renovation and replaced by the West Wing. Seen in the painting are Kermit Roosevelt, President Theodore Roosevelt's second son and third child, playing in the conservatory with his blue macaw Eli Yale, named after the benefactor of Yale University, Elihu Yale, and his cat, Tom Quartz. Kermit's mother, First Lady Edith Roosevelt, watches her son in the background. ***Interior use only for publications***
  • John George Nicolay with Visitors in the White House Conservatory
    Mathew B. Brady
    delegation
    Conservatory
    This black and white photograph by Matthew Brady is of the Southern Plains delegation and was taken in the White House Conservatory on March 27, 1863. Interpreter William Simpson Smith and agent Samuel G. Colley stand at the left of the group and the woman at the far right is frequently identified as Mary Todd Lincoln. The delegates in the first row are, left to right: War Bonnet, Standing in the Water, and Lean Bear of the Cheyenne, and Yellow Wolf of the Kiowa. Yellow Wolf is wearing the Thomas Jefferson peace medal. The identities of the delegates in the second row are unknown.
  • The Famous Rooms of The White House
    Unknown
    East Room
    Blue Room
    Red Room
    Library
    Conservatory
    State Floor
    Ground Floor
    Second Floor
    This circa 1887 wood engraving (marked F. Myrick) depicts various White House rooms such as the East Room, Blue Room, Red Room, Green Room, Conservatory, and Library, as they appeared during the first administration of President Grover Cleveland.