• Blue Room, Nixon Administration
    Unknown
    State Floor
    Blue Room
    renovation
    refurbishment
    This photograph shows the Blue Room of the White House as it appeared following a renovation project by First Lady Pat Nixon in 1972. Mrs. Nixon was assisted by White House Curator Clement E. Conger and design consultant Edward Vason Jones. The refurbished Blue Room’s style was inspired by the French Bellangé suite of furniture President James Monroe purchased for the room in 1817. The walls were covered with beige wallpaper, featuring an upper frieze with a flower and bowl design, and a lower border of pink flowers, cupids, and Greek figures. Blue curtains hung the length of the room. The room also included a new oval plaster design in the center of the ceiling completed by Herbert John Millard, a wood carver from Roswell, Georgia.
  • Blue Room, Nixon Administration
    Unknown
    State Floor
    Blue Room
    renovation
    refurbishment
    This photograph shows the Blue Room of the White House as it appeared following a renovation project by First Lady Pat Nixon in 1972. Mrs. Nixon was assisted by White House Curator Clement E. Conger and design consultant Edward Vason Jones. The refurbished Blue Room’s style was inspired by the French Bellangé suite of furniture President James Monroe purchased for the room in 1817. The walls were covered with beige wallpaper, featuring an upper frieze with a flower and bowl design, and a lower border of pink flowers, cupids, and Greek figures. Blue curtains hung the length of the room. The room also included a new oval plaster design in the center of the ceiling completed by Herbert John Millard, a wood carver from Roswell, Georgia.
  • Blue Room, Nixon Administration
    Unknown
    State Floor
    Blue Room
    renovation
    refurbishment
    This photograph shows the Blue Room of the White House as it appeared following a renovation project by First Lady Pat Nixon in 1972. Mrs. Nixon was assisted by White House Curator Clement E. Conger and design consultant Edward Vason Jones. The refurbished Blue Room’s style was inspired by the French Bellangé suite of furniture President James Monroe purchased for the room in 1817. The walls were covered with beige wallpaper, featuring an upper frieze with a flower and bowl design, and a lower border of pink flowers, cupids, and Greek figures. Blue curtains hung the length of the room. The room also included a new oval plaster design in the center of the ceiling completed by Herbert John Millard, a wood carver from Roswell, Georgia.
  • Collen Williamson's Water Table
    Unknown
    renovation
    This photograph of the White House water table was taken during the Truman R[r]enovation from 1948 to 1952. It was originally laid under the supervision of stonemason Collen Williamson.
  • White House Interior, Truman Renovation
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe was taken during the Truman Renovation of the White House. Between 1948 and 1952, the White House was gutted and the interior was completely reconstructed. The facade remained intact during construction.
  • Carpenters Lay Flooring in State Dining Room
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    State Dining Room
    State Floor
    construction & maintenance
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows carpenters laying the flooring in the State Dining Room. The flooring is quartered white oak laid in a herringbone pattern. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Worker Removing Bricks
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows a worker removing bricks during the demolition. The bricks were funneled down through a wooden conduit to be stored for possible use as souvenir materials. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Removal of Groin Vaulting from Basement
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    Ground Floor Corridor
    Ground Foor
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows the removal of the groin vaulting from the Ground Floor Corridor. Large portions of the original 18th century construction are visible. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Installation of Wood Finish Trim on Lunette Window
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    West Sitting Hall
    Second Floor
    construction & maintenance
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows a workman finishing the trim on the window in the West Sitting Hall. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Remains of the Yellow Oval Room
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    Yellow Oval Room
    Second Floor
    Blue Room
    State Floor
    construction & maintenance
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows two men standing in the Yellow Oval Room with part of the floor completely removed and the Blue Room exposed beneath. The north wall and the floor were removed in order to install steel shoring columns. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Hanging the Wilson Portrait
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    Red Room
    State Floor
    construction & maintenance
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows workers returning F. Graham Cootes' 1936 portrait of President Woodrow Wilson to its place on the wall of the Red Room. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Ground Floor Demolition
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    Ground Floor
    construction & maintenance
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows the Ground Floor demolition. An archway from the Ground Floor Corridor and the outline of the former stairway between the Ground Floor and State Floor are about all that remains as interior walls are removed and replaced with temporary steel supports. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Entrance Hall Under Construction
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    Entrance Hall
    State Floor
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows the Entrance Hall under construction, with both the bones of William Adams Delano's grand staircase and the steel cores for white marble columns exposed. Delano also consulted on the construction of the Truman Balcony. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Truman's East Room Renovation
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    East Room
    State Floor
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows the gutted East Room. Visible are the steel frame towers built to support the third floor and the roof while the rest of the house was demolished. One of the steel beams has the word "Bethlehem" in white lettering. The Bethlehem Steel company of Pennsylvania provided the support beams. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Bulldozer in the White House
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    construction & maintenance
    This photograph shows the interior of the White House completely gutted with a bulldozer in the foreground. Visible are the steel frame towers built to support the third floor and the roof while the rest of the house was demolished. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Worker Inspects New Elevator
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    construction & maintenance
    technology
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows workers inspecting a new elevator in the sub-basement. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Workmen Inside the New Ventilation System
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    construction & maintenance
    technology
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows workmen inside the new White House ventilation system being installed above the tunnel in the new basement. The photograph was taken to underscore the size of the system. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Bulldozer in the White House
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    This photograph shows the interior of the White House completely gutted with a bulldozer in the foreground. Visible are the steel frame towers built to support the third floor and the roof while the rest of the house was demolished. One of the steel beams has the word "Bethlehem" in white lettering. The Bethlehem Steel company of Pennsylvania provided the support beams. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Steel Support Towers Built During Construction
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows steel frame towers built to support the third floor and the roof while the rest of the house was demolished. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Underside of Broken Floor Structure
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    Family Dining Room
    State Floor
    construction & maintenance
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows the underside of the floor of the room where Margaret Truman's piano sank in the summer of 1948. The damage is seen from the Family Dining Room after the plaster ceiling had been removed. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Laying Subflooring in Center Hall
    Unknown
    renovation
    Center Hall
    Second Floor
    This photograph shows a work crew laying subflooring in the Center Hall on the Second Floor of the Executive Mansion. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Crack in the West Sitting Room
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    West Sitting Hall
    Second Floor
    construction & maintenance
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows a floor to ceiling crack in the north wall of the West Sitting Room. Stress fractures such as this one were some of the many structural problems that led to President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • Workmen Hang East Room Chandelier
    Abbie Rowe
    renovation
    East Room
    State Floor
    This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows workers hanging one of the East Room chandeliers. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.
  • State Dining Room, Theodore Roosevelt Administration
    Unknown
    State Dining Room
    State Floor
    renovation
    This photograph of the State Dining Room was taken in 1903 during the Theodore Roosevelt administration. In 1902 President Roosevelt spearheaded a large renovation of the White House. The State Dining Room, seen here in its completion, had oak paneling and was decorated with animal heads, much in line with Roosevelt's personality and tastes.
  • White House, Staircase (Private)
    Frances Benjamin Johnston
    staircase
    Cross Hall
    Second Floor
    renovation
    This circa 1889 black and white photograph by Frances Benjamin Johnston depicts the staircase that once led from the west end of the Cross Hall to the Second Floor. The staircase was removed during the 1902 Roosevelt renovation for the expansion of the State Dining Room.