The Smithsonian offers a number of events for their summer interns, one of which was a tour of the White House. Although it was a "self guided" tour (and we weren't allowed to take pictures inside), we were able to explore some of the beautiful rooms and the guards were standing by to answer questions.
We entered from the East and viewed the library, Vermeil room, and China Room, then moved upstairs to see the East Room being prepared for a lunch event; although we were with one of the first tour groups, the staff was already preparing to close the area to the public. The East room is slightly larger than the State Dining Room, suggesting that this might have been an event for quite a few people. The building is filled with historic objects, paintings, and furniture, and is beautifully and lushly decorated. The majority of the rooms we saw, such as the Blue, Green, and Red rooms, are used primarily for receptions and special events, and they definitely accomplish their primary purpose- to impress. -KS
Kelly, I'm so jealous you went to the White House. I really wanted to go but my request was denied because of the high demand for white house tours. Oh well, maybe another time.
ReplyDeletePeople don’t know that the White House-is a house with a history of slavery. It has long been known that slaves were part of the labor force that built the White House and the US Capitol. Slaves worked seven days a week to build the White House. Twelve presidents owned slaves and eight presidents owned slaves while in office.It is ridiculous how much slaves were used to build so much of the U.S.
-OI
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/02/slaves.white.house/index.html