Green Room (White House)

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The Green Room, looking northeast during the administration of William Jefferson Clinton.

White House State Floor showing the location of the Green Room.

Detail of drapery in the Green Room showing detail of watered silk moiré fabric and handmade coral and green silk bobbin trim.

McKim, Mead, and White renovation of the Green Room in 1904 during the administration of Theodore Roosevelt. Victorian clutter has been cleared away to create an interior more like the time when the White House was built. While the mantel, vermeil vases, and bronze clock all date to the administration of James Monroe, the furniture is reproduction English Regency.

The Green Room is one of three state parlors on the first floor in the White House, the home of the president of the United States. It is often used for entertaining. It is traditionally decorated in shades of green.

The room is approximately 28 feet by 22.5 feet. It has six doors, which open into the Cross Hall, East Room, South Portico, and Blue Room.

1 Furnishings
2 History
3 References and additional reading
4 External links

[edit] Furnishings

The Green Room was decorated in a series of largely undistinguished Victorian revival styles through much of the nineteenth century. In 1902 a major renovation, guided by historical research, was implemented by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White. The Victorian excess was swept away and replaced by a considerably more appropriate style called Colonial Revival. Heavily patterned floral wallcovering was replaced by a simple green silk velvet. The Renaissance Revival mantel was replaced by a French Empire mantel purchased by President Madison in 1819. A suite of white painted caned reproduction English Regency furniture replaced a suite of overstuffed Turkish style sofas and chairs. Subsequent twentieth century presidents mostly maintained what could be described as an "Colonial" appearance with largely reproduction furniture.

The Kennedy restoration, begun in 1961, brought a more academic yet dramatic approach to the decoration of the Green Room. Henry Francis du Pont of the Winterthur Museum, with influence of French interior designer Stéphane Boudin, selected the Federal Style for the Green Room. Several significant pieces of antique furniture were acquired and placed in the room. Chief among these are Daniel Webster's sofa and John and Abigail Adam's silver tea urn. In 1971, the walls of the Green Room were rehung with the same delicate moss green watered-silk moiré fabric chosen by Jacqueline Kennedy in 1962 with the advice of Stéphane Boudin. Clement Conger, the new curator appointed during the Nixon administration, had completed substantial neoclassical interiors within the International Style exterior of the State Department. Conger addressed correcting the generic traditional plaster moldings installed during the Truman reconstruction, and had more historically accurate crown molding and ceiling medallions installed. New draperies of striped cream, green, and coral silk satin were designed based largely upon an illustration shown in an early nineteenth century pattern book belonging to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now called Historic New England). Coral and gilt ornamental cornices were constructed and installed above the windows. They are topped by a hand-carved, gilded American eagles with outspread wings. The cornices are similar to those in the South Drawing Room of the John Soane house in London. The eagle was a favorite decorative motif of the Federal period and also appears in other forms in the room. On the west wall above the sofa formerly owned by Webster, hang a pair of gilded girnadole bull's eye wall sconses capped with eagles. Today the room contains several major pieces by the Scottish born New York cabinetmaker Duncan Phyfe. They include a pair of work tables, side chairs with scroll arms, two card tables, and a pair window benches. A rare green Turkish carpet covers the floor.

[edit] History

The room was intended by architect James Hoban to be the "Common Dining Room." Thomas Jefferson did use it as a dining room and covered the floor with a green-colored canvas for protection. Over the years, presidents and first ladies have used the Green Room as a small parlor for hosting guests and encouraging informal conversation. President James Madison signed the nation's first declaration of war in the Green Room (see War of 1812). James Monroe used it as the "Card Room" with two tables for playing whist. It wasn't until the 1820 that room came to officially be called the "Green Drawing Room" during the John Quincy Adams administration. The Lincolns' dead son Willy was laid out in the Green Room, and President Lincoln's body was brought to this room after his assassination for embalming. The room has seen happier times as well. Grace Goodhue Coolidge displayed what some considered risqué Art Deco sculpture here and used the room for small parties with friends. Eleanor Roosevelt entertained Amelia Earhart here, and President Kennedy thought it the most attractive and restful room on the state floor. The room is presently in the design phase of a refurbishment by the Committee for the Preservation of the White House and White House curator William Allman. Refurbishments of the White House's historic rooms happen on a regular basis. Input from the current first family, along with reference to historical documents and sometimes new research help guide the decisions of the Committee. The Committee has so far agreed to reproduce the moss green watered silk fabric presently hung on the walls.

[edit] References and additional reading

Abbott, James A. A Frenchman in Camelot: The Decoration of the Kennedy White House by Stéphane Boudin. Boscobel Restoration Inc.: 1995. ISBN 0-9646659-0-5.
Abbott, James A., and Elaine M. Rice. Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration. Van Nostrand Reinhold: 1998. ISBN 0-442-02532-7.
Clinton, Hillary Rodham. An Invitation to the White House: At Home with History. Simon & Schuster: 2000. ISBN 0-684-85799-5.
Monkman, Betty C. The White House: The Historic Furnishing & First Families. Abbeville Press: 2000. ISBN 0-7892-0624-2.
Seale, William. The President's House. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 1986. ISBN 0-912308-28-1.
Seale, William, The White House: The History of an American Idea. White House Historical Association: 1992, 2001. ISBN 0-912308-85-0.
West, J.B. with Mary Lynn Kotz. Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan: 1973. SBN 698-10546-X.
The White House: An Historic Guide. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. ISBN 0-912308-79-6.