White House, Green Room: Through Mamie Eisenhower

The first President George Washington with his wife Martha
and her grandchildren with a servant (possibly William Lee), 1796.
Martha Washington uses her fan to point to the main street,
now Pennsylvania Avenue, on the map of the District of Columbia.
Engraving by Edward Savage, 1798, after his 1796 painting.
Image:  Library of Congress.

First Floor Plan of the White House indicating the location of the Green Room.
(The adjacent oval room is known as the Blue Room and the largest room is the East Room).
Image: Wikipedia. 

This is the second of a series about the decoration of the Green Room of the White House.  The first essay presented the 2007 refurbishment undertaken with the leadership of First Lady Laura Bush and may be viewed here.   Some background on the history of the room is helpful in understanding the whole topic of interior design in the White House, so bear with me for an abbreviated survey.

The First Floor Plan of the White House, drawn by architect Benjamin Latrobe,
indicating how Thomas Jefferson used the rooms in 1803.
Image:  Library of Congress.

Architect James Hoban intended this room, 22'-6" x 28'-3" with a ceiling height of 18', as the "Common Dining Room" (meaning everyday).  The first occupants, John and Abagail Adams lived there only a short time (because the capital was in Philadelphia before Washington became the official federal city), although the February, 1801 inventory lists it as the "Lodging Room".  The White House's second occupant, Thomas Jefferson, used it as his dining room and we know that it was furnished with chintz curtains and a painted green floor cloth.  James and Dolley Madison used it as a sitting room and James Monroe used it as a card room.

The White House after the 1814 fire as seen in an aquatint by William Strickland.
Image:  Library of Congress.

The bold door and window trim with ornately carved corner blocks came from the Monroe redecoration of the State Rooms after the August 24, 1814, British burning of the White House as did the white marble chimneypieces ordered from Italy.  Although some sources say that the Monroes were the first to refer to the Green Room by that name, others say that it was not until John Quincy Adams presidency that it became universally known as the Green Room because of the fabrics used.  (As a consequence of Monroe's purchase of mostly imported French furniture, Congress inacted legislation that required furniture bought for the White House with public funds must be of domestic origin.  Adams commissioned local cabinetmakers, including M. Bouvier, great-grandfather of future First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, to create quality furniture for the White House).

The First Floor Plan of the White House, drawn by Alexander Jackson Davis
in 1834 during the Presidency of Andrew Jackson.
The plan is intentially flipped, with apologies, to give the same orientation
throughout the essay.
Image from DREAM HOUSE, THE WHITE HOUSE AS AN AMERICAN HOME.

Andrew Jackson was the first president to undertake a full interior decoration of the White House, partially necessitated by the throngs that attended the 1829 inagural reception, all supplied by Philadelphia furnisher Louis Vernon.   Because of its location adjacent to the East Room, the Green Room was used as a reception room.  It was at this time that advances in lighting and chemical dyes that allowed the rooms to be more colorful and brighter than ever before.  (Jackson also installed running water).  In the North especially, there was a mid-19th century movement that regarded Greco-Roman classicism as un-Christian and completely adverse to American values, but the White House remained white (at least on the exterior) and the interiors restrained.

President Andrew Jackson by Ralph E.W. Earl, 1836.
Image:  White House Historical Association

There was little variation to the Jackson scheme by the Van Burens, Harrisons (who lived in the White House only a month until the President died of pneumonia), and Tylers regardless of the needs caused by wear.  But despite criticism that he and his wife lived regally, which some contribute to his loss of the 1840 election, Van Buren did provide a new suite of all-upholstered furniture for the Green Room that was known as confortables, utilizing coiled steel springs and heavy padding for comfort.

First Lady Sarah Polk in a lithograph by Nathaniel Currier,
after an 1846 daguerrotype by John Plumbe, Jr.
Mrs. Polk is credited as being the first woman in charge of
White House decoration, relying on ready-made goods
from major east-coast cities.
Image:  Library of Congress.

With the 1845 occupancy of James K. and Sarah Polk, a luxurious elegance came to the White House interiors with the help of Washington art collector W.W. Corcoran.  Although no images exist, we know the Green Room had green curtains and upholstery, with a ruby red carpet with a design of eagles and stars.  (The Devoted Classicist has a special interest in the Polks, so you will be reading more about them in future posts).

The Green Room in the 1850s during the Pierce occupancy.
Image:  White House Museum Organization.

In addition to new bathrooms and heating introduced to the White House with the help of architect Thomas U.Walter, Franklin and Jane Pierce replaced the classical chimneypieces in the Green Room (along with the Red, Blue, and East Rooms) with Roco style white marble chimneypieces with arched openings fitted with coal grates.  Painted decorations in a large scale French design was added to the ceilings of the all the State Rooms.  New wallpaper with a green design against a white background and a coordinating fitted carpet completed the new decor for the Green Room, reflected in a large gilt overmantel mirror supplied by L.R. Menger of New York.

The 1860 visit by Edward, Prince of Wales, who was the first member of the British royal family to be received by a President, prompted a renewal of fabrics and carpets for the bachelor President James Buchanan, overseen by his niece, Harriet Lane.

This view of the Green Room is identified as being from the Lincoln era
by the Lincoln White House Community.

The over-spending of the White House decorating budget by Mary Todd Lincoln is well-documented, with the State Rooms getting French wallpapers, lace curtains, furniture, and new carpets from William Carryl in Philadelphia and A.T. Stewart in New York.  (Stewart's is considered the first department store in America).  After the 1862 death of Willie Lincoln from Typhoid Fever, his open casket was placed in the Green Room;  according to accounts of the time, Mrs. Lincoln never entered the room again.

The North Front of the White House, as it appeared about 1865.
The bronze sculpture of Thomas Jefferson, now in the Capitol,
was one of the few statues ever on display in the garden.
Photo:  New York Public Library.

Following Lincoln's assasination in 1865, the White House interiors of Andrew Johnson had been tattered by souvenir hunters taking pieces of curtain trimming, upholstery fabric and carpeting.  The Johnson's daughter, Martha Patterson, undertook the redoration of the State Parlors with Neo-Grec wallpaper and Pompeian-red banding and black & gold borders, thanks to appropriations that totalled more than $135,000 by the end of his term in 1869.

The wall decoration from the Johnson era remained in this view
of the Green Room photographed, 1875-80, during the Grant presidency.
The 1859 ebony suite by Gottlieb Vollmer & Company,
 Philadelphia, is still in place.
Photo:  New York Public Library.

This view of the Green Room by Mathew Brady is undated,
but may be a photograph from the Grant era.
It is documented that slipcovers were used by the Johnsons,
however, because of the tatered upholstered fabric.
Photo:  Library of Congress.

The Green Room with an enormous portrait of General Grant
on horseback leaning against the wall.
Photo: White House Historical Association.

President Grant was not interested in interior aesthetics despite that America was poised to enter the Gilded Age at the time of his 1865 inauguration. (He did oversee the extensive landscape improvements of the grounds, however).  Julia Grant essentially left the Green Room as she found it (although she changed the Blue Room and the East Room).  Neither Lucy Hayes nor Lucretia Garfield had the opportunity to make many changes in White House decor.  But the Garfields did have the Washington furnishers W.B. Moses & Sons supply the Green Room with ready-made Aesthetic style upholstered furniture and curtains in the same fabric;  the 1850s gasolier and over-mantle mirror remained.

The Garfield Green Room, 1800-85.
Photo:  New York Public Library.

Chester Arthur was widowed and one of the few presidents to have significant input for the White House decor.  As a New Yorker who was familiar with the Gilded Age mansions, Arthur brought in Louis Comfort Tiffany, sometimes considered the first professional American decorator.  Tiffany's work in the White House in 1882 provided entirely custom, luxurious interiors, not purchased from a department store.  But Tiffany did not change the Green Room although some Tiffany pieces eventually made their way into the room.

The Arthur Green Room, circa 1885, keeping the Garfield decoration in tact
in a photo lithograph showing the colors typical of the period.
Image:  Library of Congress.

The First Floor Plan after the McKim, Mead & White renovation of 1902.
Additional doorways were cut through from the oval Blue Room
to both the Green Room and Red Room for circulation during events.
Rather than hinged concealed doors on the Blue Room side,
there are removable panels that are usually left in storage today.

While Caroline Harrison dreamed of having the White House refurbished in the Colonial Revival style and Mrs. McKinley made do with a few additions of the prevailing trend, it was not until 1902, following McKinley's assassination and Theodore Roosevelt's swearing in, that First Lady Edith Roosevelt brought in Charles McKim to renovate the White House.  Continuing with the themes of intellectual classicism that met with such great success in the White City of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, early American architecture was presented with new appreciation.  Many architectural elements were discarded instead of restored, however, and the immediate response to this renovation was negative.  Eventually, the McKim, Mead & White interpretation of Colonial Revival, more an eclectic Beaux Arts approach than the more academic Georgian and Federal Revivals that would follow, became appreciated as the White House became more dignified, if somewhat chaste.

The Theodore Roosevelt Green Room, circa 1903.
Photo:  Library of Congress.

Typical of the taste of Stanford White, the walls and curtains of the Green Room were of the same green velvet, said to be copied from a Genoese fragment.  White neo-classical furniture from A.H. Davenport & Company, Boston, was upholstered in a tapestry fabric that coordinated with the modern rug on the new parquet wood floor.  One of the Monroe-era marble chimneypieces from the State Dining Room was installed (with the other going to the Red Room).  And a new crystal chandelier that was a stylistic reinterpretation rather than a reproduction provided electric light.  The marble center table dates from Mrs. Tyler in the 1840s.  The Viennese fire screen had been presented to Grant after the 1876 Centennial Exposition.

Neither Helen Taft nor Edith Wilson made any dramatic changes in the State Rooms, but Edith Wilson was the first to have American porcelain dinnerware, Lenox China, made in Trenton, New Jersey.  In 1909, President William Howard Taft began plans to increase the size of the White House by 80%, adding the Oval Office and other spaces designed by Nathan C. Wyeth to further allow the State Rooms to be used for ceremonial functions.

This photo of the Green Room during the Hoover era shows
the scheme developed by Crace Cooldige and her team.
Photo:  cornellcollege.edu.

Although department store reproductions were more prevalent than antiques during the White House years of Grace Coolidge, the historic quality of the State Rooms was appreciated.  Mrs. Coolidge assembled the first (although short-lived) advisory committee to solicit gifts of antiques and art for the White House.  With the assistance of Ulysses S. Grant, 3rd, (President Grant's grandson) to act as mediator with the committee, Grace Coolidge redecorated the Green Room, upholstering the walls in green silk brocade with curtains of the same fabric to coordinate with the custom made rug from Tiffany Studios featuring the Great Seal of the United States.  The seating furniture was in yellow brocade. Louise "Lou" Hoover focused her attention on modernizing the private quarters, but she is credited with creating some of the first attempts at period settings in the State Rooms.

The Hoover Green Room kept the Coolidge decoration.
Photo:  National Archives and Records Administration.

Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt spent nothing on the State Room interiors during the decades of economic depression and war.  The installation of ductwork for central air-conditioning was one of the many alterations that led to problems, however.

The interior of the White House during the 1949-52 rebuilding.
Photo:  Library of Congress.

After years of assorted and miscellaneous renovations, the White House was in poor structural condition by the time of President Harry S. Truman.  A rebuilding of the White House began in 1949 and continued to 1952 with most of the house stripped down to the stone walls.


The Green Room during the Truman administration
renovation as seen on May 21, 1951.
Photo:  Harry S. Truman Library & Museum

The Truman Green Room in 1946.
Photo:  Library of Congress.

The Green Room was the only State Room to be refurbished before the renovation.  The fabric was a bright reinterpretation of an 18th century damask selected by Charles T. Haight, chief decorator for the New York department store, B. Altman & Company.  After the renovation, the same selection was used again.

The Truman Green Room in 1952.
Photo: Abbie Rowe, Truman Library.

The Eisenhower Green Room in 1960.
First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, right, with her sister and two nieces.
Photo: Eisenhower Presidential Library.

Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower made no significant changes to the State Rooms of the Truman White House.  In 1956, a longtime friend of the Eisenhowers, Margaret Thompson Biddle, donated her collection of European gilded silver to the White House, leading to the creation of the Vermeil Room in the basement level. (Coincidently, Mrs. Biddle's villa on the Riviera was decorated by Stephane Boudin who would later redecorate the Vermeil Room during the Kennedy era).  In 1960, the basement oval room, a secondary reception room, was redecorated through a collaboration of the National Society of Interior Designers and Mrs. Eisenhower, furnished with donated Federal period antiques.  But the White House was treated foremost as a residence and it was secondary that it was a historic building.  It was not until the next First Lady that the White House was considered also as a museum.

The Eisenhower Green Room in January, 1961,
just prior to the Kennedy inaguaration.
Photo (reversed):  Life Magazine.

The next post of The Devoted Classicist will present the Green Room decoration by the team led by Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, who set a standard by which White House interior design is still measured today.

More about the White House as a residence and how it compares to other architecturally significant homes can be found in an interesting book written by acquaintances Ulysses G. Dietz and Sam Watters, DREAM HOUSE: THE WHITE HOUSE AS AN AMERICAN HOME.  It is available for purchase at a discount here.

Landmark Manhattan Townhouses For Sale

For those less troubled by these current financial times, there is a good selection of architecturally significant townhouses for sale on Manhattan's Upper East Side.  Among the current offerings are single family residences by some of the most famous architects of the twentieth century:  McKim, Mead & White, C.P.H. Gilbert, Delano & Aldrich, and Paul Rudolph.

The exterior of 973 Fifth Avenue, New York City.
(The door knocker in the first image is a detail of the pair of front doors).
Photo:  New York Times.

The limestone Renaissance Revival house at 973 Fifth Avenue was completed in 1907 to the design by the prestigous architectural firm McKim, Mead & White.  Although there are some conflicting reports in current information, the house is believed to have been commissioned by Henry H. Cook, a railroad tycoon and banker who owned the whole block from Fifth Avenue to Madison Avenue, East 78th Street to East 79th Street.  After several years of poor health, Cook died of pneumonia in 1905 at his Lennox, Massachusetts, estate "Wheatleigh" (by architects Peabody & Stearns with landscape by Frederick Law Olmstead), and the house was occupied on completion by one of his four daughters, Georgie (with stables at 103 East 77th Street, on the site where a Christian Scientist Church now stands).

The Floor Plans of 973 Fifth Avenue.
Image:  Brown Harris Stevens.

The next owner was Colonel Oliver Hazard Payne, a major partner in Standard Oil and a director of Chase National Bank along with numerous other interests.  Colonel Payne gave the adjacent lot at 972 Fifth Avenue to his nephew Payne Whitney and his wife Helen Hay along with $600,000 towards construction of a house, also designed by McKim, Mead & White.  Helen Whitney occupied that house until her death in 1944.  Their children were Joan, Mrs. Charles Shipman Payson, and Jock, John Hay Whitney, whose homes will be discussed in future posts of The Devoted Classicist.

The Entrance Hall of 973 Fifth Avenue.
Photo:  Brown Harris Stevens.

The architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White was one of the most respected and prolific firms of the day.  Real estate agents almost always attribute the design to Stanford White, but he did bring in many of the residential commissions and is actually very likely to be the responsible partner here.  In any case, the interiors show some of the refined Renaissance and Louis XVI detailing for which he is well known.

The Drawing Room of 973 Fifth Avenue.
Photo:  Brown Harris Stevens.

After studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Charles Follen McKim worked at the office of Henry Hobson Richardson before going into partnership in 1873 with William Rutherford Mead who had studied the Renaissance in Florida.  Stanford White, who also worked for Richardson, joined McKim and Mead in 1879 after a year and a half in Europe.  One of the firm's most famous buildings in its day was the second Madison Square Garden, 1890-1925, where White was murdered in 1906, shot in the rooftop restaurant by millionaire Harry Kendall Thaw over the affair with Thaw's wife, the actress/model Evelyn Nesbit, with the story incorporated into a number of books and films including THE GIRL IN THE RED VELVET SWING and RAGTIME.  Other Renaissance Revival Manhattan houses by McKim, Mead & White include the Joseph Pulitzer Mansion at 11 East 73rd Street, and the Villard Houses, a palazzo-like townhouse complex of six residences at 451, 453, 455 & 457 Madison Avenue and 24 & 26 East 51st Street, now offices and part of the Palace Hotel.

The Dining Room of 973 Fifth Avenue.
Photo:  Brown Harris Stevens.

The Staircase of 973 Fifth Avenue.
Photo:  Brown Harris Stevens.

The seller is the estate of Victor Shafferman who died in 2009; he bought the house in the 1970s for $600,000 according to reports.  Mr Shafferman was a businessman, partner in the ownership of commerical real estate and apartment buildings, believed to be born in Palestine (although Switzerland was sometimes given) and raised in Canada.  This writer had met Mr Shafferman in a social context as we had several mutual acquaintances;  the most memorable aspect of the meeting was that he almost immediately mentioned that he owned the last privately owned single family townhouse on Fifth Avenue, apparently a common practice.  Neither I nor any of my friends were ever invited there, however, and no one ever knew of any entertaining there during this period in the 1980s and 90s.  In fact, there was never any sign of life at the house, no open curtains or even a light on, although the exterior was at least moderately maintained.  (Although details are murky, the late Mr Shafferman is believed to be the force behind The Foundation For Classical Architecture, Inc., which owns "Blairsden", a 38 room mansion designed by Carrere & Hastings on 50 prime acres in Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey, currently listed for sale here.)

The Library of 973 Fifth Avenue.
Photo:  Brown Harris Stevens.

973 Fifth Avenue is offered for sale for $49 million by Brown Harris Stevens and the details of the listing may be viewed here.

22 East 71st Street.
Photo:  Sotheby's International Realty.

The forty-five feet wide limestone Renaissance Revival townhouse at 22 East 71st Street was completed in 1923 for Julius Forstmann, owner of the F Woolen Company in Passaic, New Jersey, designed by architect CPH Gilbert.  In recent years, the house had been rented by Lawrence Salander for the Salander-O'Reilly Galleries for $154,000 per month until charges of fraud closed the business.  The last use was for the 2009 Kips Bay Designer Showhouse with the theme being a tribute to long-time supporter of Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club, the legendary decorator Albert Hadley.

The principal Drawing Room of 22 East 71st Street.
Photo:  Sotheby's International Realty.

The principal Drawing Room as decorated by Bunny Williams for the Kips Bay Showhouse, 2009.
Photo:  House Beautiful magazine.

The Floor Plans of 22 East 71st Street.
Image:  Sotheby's International Realty.

Charles Pierrepont H. Gilbert studied at Columbia University and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, practicing architecture in the Colorado and Arizona mining regions before returning to his hometown of New York City around 1885.  After service in the Spanish-American War of 1898, he continued designing opulent townhouses and mansions with great success.  Two of Gilbert's best known remaining residential commissions in Manhattan are the Joseph Raphael De Lamar House at 233 Madison Avenue, now the consulate for the government of Poland, and the Felix M. Warburg House at 1109 Fifth Avenue, now the Jewish Museum with a matching 1993 addition by Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo & Associates.

The entrance of 22 East 71st Street.
Photo:  Sotheby's International Realty.

22 East 71st Street is currently owned by developer Aby Rosen and offered for sale for $50 million, reduced from $75 million.  The listing through Sotheby's International Realty may be viewed here.

120 East 78th Street Entrance.
Photo: Brown Harris Stevens.

An unusual townhouse by the architectural firm of Delano & Aldrich that had been long admired by The Devoted Classicist is located at 120 East 78th Street.  In fact, the entrance is so unique that this writer has wondered if the house is an extensive renovation instead of a new construction by the famed architects, having to deal with the floor heights of an earlier townhouse.  The real estate listing states the construction date of 1930, with the first owner being Harry Rogers Winthrop, a descendant of  Governor Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Floor Plans of 120 East 78th Street.  Note the unusual opportunity for the rear rooms to have windows to the west as well as to the south.
Image:  Brown Harris Stevens.

The Entrance Hall of 120 East 78th Street features a fireplace and a view of the staircase.
Photo:  Brown Harris Stevens.

The Library of 120 East 78th Street features Louis XV style panelling.
Photo:  Brown Harris Stevens.

The Dining Room at 120 East 78th Street.  The double hung windows extending to the floor are characteristic of features often seen in the work of architects Delano & Aldrich.
Photo:  Brown Harris Stevens.

Both William Adams Delano and Chester Aldrich studied at Columbia University and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts;  they met while working at Carrere & Hastings.  With Aldrich's family connections (he was a relative of Jr's wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller), the office was renown for its remarkable country houses, both grand and more modest, but always in impeccable good taste.  (See the home of legendary decorator Ruby Ross Woods in the August 25, 2011, post of The Devoted Classicist here).  Other Manhattan houses by Delano & Aldrich include the Francis Palmer-George F. Baker Jr. House, a stately 3-phase mansion at 75 East 93rd Street with the main house and ballroom wing now owned by the Russian Othodox Church Outside of Russia and the garage/guest house now part of the residence of noted preservationist and classic house collector Dick Jenrette (whose Millford Plantation was featured here).  And another great house is the Willard Straight Williams at 1130 Fifth Avenue, once occupied by the legendary hostess Mrs. Harrison Williams, the National Audubon Society, and the International Center of Photography before becoming a private residence again, now home to commodities tycoon Bruce Kovner.

120 East 78th Street is currently offered at $26 million.  More information can be seen at the Brown Harris Stevens website here.

101 East 63rd Street.
Photo:  Trulia.

Although not in the classical tradition, the townhouse at 101 East 63rd Street is none-the-less one of the favorites of The Devoted Classicist.  Originally, it was a 19th century building that was completely renovated by architect Paul Rudolph as a very sleek, contemporary townhouse.  Completed in 1966 for Alexander Hirsch and Lewis Turner, it features a garage, rooftop terrace, and a double-height living room.  The house is most often associated with its next owner, the fashion designer known as Halston.  In Rudolph's original design, there were no railings for the stairs, loft and cat-walk which must have really added to the drama of the celebrity gatherings during the Halston era.  Renovation by the next owner, Gunter Sachs who bought it in 1990 (and briefly owned it in partnership with Gianni Agnelli before buying out his share) added glass balustrades, however, except for the stairs.

101 East 63rd Street Floor Plans.
Image:  Corcoran.

A view of Halston's Living Room looking towards the greenhouse.
Photo:  New York Times.

Halston, preparing to entertain at home.
Google Images.

Halston's Bedroom.
Photo:  New York Times.

Halston's top floor Sitting Room.  Architect Paul Rudolph was called back to make a few changes, including the addition of the stair balustrade of leather-covered rope shown here.
Photo:  New York Times.

Paul Rudolph earned a bachelor degree in architecture from Auburn University in 1940, and a Master's from Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1947, interupted by three years in the Navy.  For six years, he was dean of the Yale Art and Architecture School, located in the building he designed, his most famous work.  His architecture was in the Brutalist Style and influenced many commercial and office buildings around the world.  Rudolph died in 1997 at age 78 of peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer linked to asbestos exposure, a fire-proofing material commonly used in his work with exposed interior structure.  His own 1973 home, a penthouse at 23 Beekman Place, is visible from the FDR Drive along the East River;  it is the private residence of Steve Campus.  Rudolph's 1989 townhouse, which he shared with partner Ernst Wagner, is located at 246 East 58th Street, now home to the Paul Rudolph Foundation and occassionally open to the public.

The estate of one of the original owners Lewis "Sonny" Turner made a gift of approximately 750 documents relating to the construction of the house to the Library of Congress.  The documents include 19 groups of architectural drawings and renderings, 3 pen & ink drawings, and 109 photographs.  At present, these documents are not digitized for on-line viewing, but may be seen by appointment.  For more information, see the Hirsch/Turner/Halston Townhouse Documentation at http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2011661902/.

Halston and Peke in the Living Room.

The last owner Gunter Sachs, photographer, art collector and former husband of Brigitte Bardot, took his own life in May, 2011, at age 78, at his home in Gstaad, Switzerland, according to published reports.  The property is offered by his estate for $38.5 million through Cocoran.  Current photos of the interior and more information can be seen at the real estate website here.

Decisions, decisions.  Considering the architecture and the location, but disregarding all the financial factors, which Manhattan townhouse would you choose?