• President Carter Lights First National Menorah
    Unknown
    winter holidays
    Hanukkah
    menorah
    Lafayette Park
    In this photograph, President Jimmy Carter lights a menorah in celebration of Hanukkah on December 17, 1979. This was the first lighting of the National Menorah, and took place in Lafayette Park, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. President Carter, in dressed in a tuxedo for a State Dinner held in honor of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain, put on an overcoat and walked across the street to the ceremony, which featured a small crowd of a few dozen. The lighting of the National Menorah historically takes place on the Ellipse and is overseen by a politician of the Jewish faith.
  • North Portico During the 2023 White House Easter Egg Roll
    Matthew D'Agostino
    holidays
    Easter Egg Roll
    Easter
    North Portico
    Lafayette Park
    This photograph features a crowd of families and visitors gathered outside the White House in Lafayette Park on April 10, 2023. At the White House that day was the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. The theme for the 2023 White House Easter Egg Roll, which was hosted by President Joseph R. Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, was a return of "EGGucation," which Dr. Biden also selected in 2022. Activities at the annual celebration included the traditional Easter egg roll and egg hunt, special guest readers in the reading nook, costumed characters, food, and arts and crafts, among other educational activities. This photograph was taken by Matthew D'Agostino for the White House Historical Association.
  • Evacuation of Executive Office Staff, September 11, 2001
    Unknown
    staff
    Washington, D.C.
    September 11
    Lafayette Park
    staff of FLOTUS and POTUS
    This photograph was taken near Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. during the evacuation of executive office staff following the terrorist attacks on the morning of September 11, 2001. The evacuation notice applied to approximately 1,800 staff members who worked in the East and West Wings of the White House, the Old Executive Office Building (later rededicated the Eisenhower Executive Office Building), the New Executive Office Building, and the Winder Building.
  • Visitor on Lafayette Square Cell Phone Tour
    Unknown
    Lafayette Park
    tourists
    This photograph shows a visitor on a cell phone tour of Lafayette Park with the famous statue of President Andrew Jackson standing tall behind him. The statue is located at the center of the Park.
  • Visitor on Lafayette Park Cell Phone Tour
    Mame Croze
    Lafayette Park
    tourists
    This photograph by Mame Croze shows a visitor on a cell phone tour of Lafayette Park with the North Grounds and North Portico of the White House off in the distance.