This photograph of the mantel in the State Dining Room was taken by Bruce White in 2010. The mantel is engraved with the blessing written by John Adams, “I Pray Heaven To Bestow The Best Of Blessings On This House And All that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof.” The words are taken from a letter written by Adams in 1800 and were engraved on the mantel in 1945 during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. President Truman removed the 1902 mantel and added a green marble mantel as part of the renovation of the White House (1948-1952). This photograph is of the replica of the 1902 mantel returned to the State Dining Room during the Kennedy Restoration in 1961 with the Adams blessing and the carved bison heads added during the administration of Theodore Roosevelt.
This photograph of the mantel in the State Dining Room was taken by Bruce White in 2010. The mantel is engraved with the blessing written by John Adams, “I Pray Heaven To Bestow The Best Of Blessings On This House And All that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof.” The words are taken from a letter written by Adams in 1800 and were engraved on the mantel in 1945 during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. President Truman removed the 1902 mantel and added a green marble mantel as part of the renovation of the White House (1948-1952). This photograph is of the replica of the 1902 mantel returned to the State Dining Room during the Kennedy Restoration in 1961 with the Adams blessing and the carved bison heads added during the administration of Theodore Roosevelt.
