Photo courtesy of The White House
White House grounds
Virginia has sent more presidents — eight — to the White House than any other state in the country. While the nation's first president, George Washington, never lived in the White House, he did hire the Irish architect James Hoban who designed it.
The White House Historical Association is responsible — along with the White House curator and first families — for bringing decades of White House history alive with meaningful restorations, historic objects and artwork.
The association is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year with a number of events including a nod to founder, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
Photo courtesy of White House Historical Association
Official White House portrait of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy by artist Aaron Shikler
Kennedy founded the group in 1961 when she discovered that White House history was being lost — furniture, artwork and more. Before she and President John F. Kennedy moved into the White House, previous administrations were primarily furnishing it with reproduction furniture purchased from department stores.
"When a new administration came in, they sometimes sold or auctioned off historical items so they could buy new and fresh things," said Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association. Jackie Kennedy founded the membership association as a way to bring together supporters who shared her vision of returning meaningful history and art to the White House.
"Jackie Kennedy wanted the very best of American art and artisans," McLaurin noted. "She used the model that great American museums use, a friends' group, nonprofit, non-taxpayer funded, nonpartisan. Every year, we spend about $2 million on various projects, working with the first lady and White House curator."
Jackie Kennedy was 31 years old when she became first lady and was in the role for less than three years. "But what she put in place is still what governs acquisitions," he said. "It's an extraordinary legacy. She hired the first curator the White House ever had. She created the White House Historical Association to be the funder and partner."
The association works with each administration on projects they'd like to undertake and is something of a "sounding board for the president and first lady — we are her living legacy in that regard," he said.
The association works with each first lady and White House curator to help restore a room at the White House or acquire a historic piece of art.
"We have established a terrific working relationship with Jill Biden and her staff," McLaurin noted. "It's a little early. She's done some wonderful things with our education programs so far. Typically, there are three to five projects."
In the 1960s, after the association was created, a White House guidebook was published in 1962. Jackie Kennedy had first toured the White House with her mother years before and was concerned even then that there was no guide book, McLaurin said.
The association, which publishes four to five books a year as well as a quarterly magazine, will release a special 60th anniversary edition of its White House History Quarterly and release several new books related to the anniversary, including:
- White House History Quarterly 60th Issue: "The White House Historical Association at Sixty, 1961-2021"
- The White House: An Historic Guide 25th Edition
- An Architect for the White House: James Hoban’s Life, Work, and the Influences of His Native Ireland
- The signature book for 2021, Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration
In addition to publications, the association also is behind the popular White House Christmas ornament that started under First Lady Nancy Reagan. "In addition to being an ornament, it's also a teaching tool about the history of the White House," McLaurin said.
The 2021 ornament is already available. The White House Historical Association’s Official 2021 White House Christmas Ornament honors Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States. This ornament commemorates Johnson's time in the White House, featuring a painting of the 1967 Blue Room Christmas tree, commissioned by First Lady Lady Bird Johnson and painted by Robert H. Laessig, a designer for American Greetings.
The association is working to finalize the design of the Christmas ornament for 2022. "It's gonna be interesting," McLaurin said. "It's a Nixon ornament and it's going to be a first."
Some of the other events this year include "White House History with Susan Page" —
- Personal Reflections on President Lyndon B. Johnson (Monday, Jan. 15) (recorded)
- Designing Camelot: A Discussion with the Authors (Wednesday, June 16)
- September 11, Twenty Years Removed: A Look Back at the Nation and the White House (Wednesday, Sept. 8)
- Sixty Years Later: The Founding and Contributions of the Association (Wednesday, Nov. 3)
The association headquarters at 740 Jackson Place NW is located in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House. "We are creating a garden area in front of those in tribute to Mrs. Kennedy and what she did to preserve Lafayette Park," McLaurin said.
"We're also going to unveil in July a series of historical markers in Lafayette Park in the north end, that tell the story of the enslaved workers who worked on that plot of land to build the White House with others and how the park has been used for First Amendment protests."
"Thousands traverse that park each day and have no idea of the history," he said.
The garden will take shape with help from a landscape architect and a sculptor and the association will also reveal information about a Jacqueline Kennedy rose being cultivated for the garden, McLaurin said.
He fully expects tours of the White House to begin again this fall, he said. "We are big promoters of having people access the White House."
Find out more here about the White House Historical Association's 60th Anniversary events.
