Nixon in the National Archives

I found some more Nixon pics of use in the National Archives. Ugh, what an awful site that is; inconvient to use and containing low-quality images. It's like mining for tin. "This sure is a lot of trouble. I hope I get a really good piece of tin out of it."

Anyway, I added pics of the Basement flower shop, Tricia as bride in the Cross Hall, Dick in the Treaty Room, and Pat in the West Sitting Hall.

Also, I added a link to the What's New page over on the right of the blog, so I don't have to include it in every post where I say there are new images.

Reathel Odum

Happened upon a pic of Reathel Odum, Mrs. Truman's personal secretary, at her desk in what is today the Beauty Salon--a real find. Looking a little deeper, I came across a transcript of an interview with her in 1988 where she talks about her room and office in the White House. She also mentions an incident with Ed McKim from the West Wing staff and, because I was also searching for info on the location of his office, I happened on an explanation in an interview with General Harry Vaughan: McKim had been tasked with cutting corners and in doing so stepped on a lot of toes all over the WH.

Article on Odum's passing in July.

Calling all Wikipedians!

As a result of creating a new Kennedy Renovation page, I noticed that Stéphane Boudin did not have an article in Wikipedia, altho he is mentioned numerous times in the WH-related articles. I've started one for him, but anyone with greater knowledge and interest should please contribute. Sister Parish and Henry DuPont did already have articles, but about half of Parish's is about her nickname!

Also just noticed that James B West doesn't have an article... yet Jim West--guitarist for "Weird" Al Yankovic--does!

West Wing miscellany

I posted Pete's review of The West Wing season 3 (and my review of Backstairs has been up since I blogged it) on the Movies & TV page.

As a result of Pete's interest in the failed Truman West Wing addition, I posted pics of the fulls set of drawings on the Truman Reconstruction page. There's floors G, 1, & 2, pics of Side and Cross section and revised version 2.

Update: White House just posted pics of Bush with Merkel, including a teleconference in the brand new Sit Room. Added to the What's New page. And, I've added links to the What's New page to the front page, About, and the menu.

Third floor details

I made a few textual additions to the third floor rooms, describing the Kennedy renovation and culled from Designing Camelot. I plan to add a few more pics of these rooms also.

Update: Just added pics of JBK's Empire Bedroom and a pic of the Chintz/Orange Blossom Bedroom. The source identified this as room 303, but judging by the layout in the pic, that's impossible; it has to be room 324. I wonder if it's possible that the Chintz Bedroom was 303 and the Orange Blossom Bedroom was 324?

What's New and Furnishings page (test)

I put together a test of a What's New page and an index and sample page for furnishings to try out the ideas. Of course, to try out what's new, I had actually add something new, so I looked for some new Ford pics in the National Archives, but didn't come up with much.

New Years' Resolutions

I wanted to capture a few things for 2007 and get feedback from visitors and regular contributors.

• Tour the White House. This may seem odd, but, altho I've been to Washington DC on a few occasions and made plans to tour the White House, I've never managed to do so. This year, I'll plan a long weekend in April or so. Any suggestions on how to prepare are appreciated. (camera tripod?)
• Tour or encyclopedia? I'm happy with the look of the WHM site now, but the navigation is starting to get a little unwieldy (the multiple detail articles off the main history pages, for example), and I'm afraid casual visitors will get a little lost. Should it be a more linear experience (taking visitors to, say, 10 of the best known rooms) or more webby and interconnected, like a web encyclopedia? Can it be both?
• Room maps. I occasionally think it might be useful for each room page to display an enlarged map of its immediate area, showing connections to adjoining rooms, but I'm not sure where it should go.
  
• Furniture and art? I've been adding a little more on the art and furniture of the White House, but I'm considering full pages on major pieces. The Monroe furniture, the round sofa that was once in the Blue Room and later in the China Room, the cabinet table W props his feet on in the Treaty Room, and of course the Lincoln Bed. Then there's Stuart's GW portrait, the seated Lincoln, and some of the famous non-portraits and sculptures. I don't want to try to recreate Monkman's book any more than I want to recreate Seale's, but certain things may deserve special recognition.
  
• Games and lesson plans. Given that I'd like to attract schoolteachers and kids, I wonder if it would be of interest to have some pages that are scavenger hunts, trivia, and what-not. I did create a lesson plan page, so I think I'll discuss it directly with a local history teacher.
  
• Web forum? One visitor suggested a forum, but I think we have about half a dozen regulars, and it seems the blog comment functionality might be enough. There's always the danger of a message board attracting political commentary and assassination conspiracy theories. And I don't think I could stand to read another Lincoln/Kennedy coincidence list.