Faces

North faces. South faces. I've got faces and I've posted them.

And you can post your face too, now that Pete has set up a Facebook group for White House enthusiasts. I can't access Facebook from work, but I can access Wikipedia, so here a link to the Wikipedia entry for Facebook.

UPDATE: Below are the two illustrations I mentioned previously from Singleton's Story.... I haven't added them to the site because they seem too fanciful, with their weird windows and all. They are very similar tho, perhaps so similar that the later one (dated 1800) was based on the earlier one (dated 1799).

Open post: mantelpieces

Feel free to comment on the history of mantels thruout the White House. (And feel free to spell it "mantle" if you like; I obviously thoroly approve of alternative spellings.)

Etchings

Several new additions of the mid-1800s, mostly sent by Christopher S.

Now that I have so many great images from that era, I'm breaking out a new page or two in the history to provide more detail.

It occurs to me that the Bush renovations may warrant a page of their own. The list of rooms they have renovated is substantial: the Family Theater, Press Briefing Room, pool cabana, Sit Room.... And they've redecorated several family rooms and West Wing rooms.

Announcing: The White House in 3D

I have just posted a new page to house the latest addition to the site: Pete Sharkey's incredible 3D White House. Pete has put untold hours into building a complete and highly detailed and accurate Presidential Park with White House extererior and grounds, giving us the opportunity to view it from perspectives we've never had before. Look all around the roof, the grounds, the gardens.... It's amazing.

For those who remember Pete's fantastic Oval Office replica, this one is only the exterior, so you can't peak into Laura Bush's dressing room.

You'll need to load Google's SketchUp or SketchUp Viewer (both free) and download the BIG 20 MB file, or you can just look at the many great images on the page. You can use the tour feature (View>Animation>Play) or click on the page tabs on the top of the opened model to see preset views

Thanks, Pete! For diligence, persistence, and patience in toiling in the basement over a hot oven, I hereby award you the Chef Roland Mesnier Baked Mansion Award (the "Rollie").

Red Room and more

Added several photos to the Red Room page, as well as a couple of strays elsewhere, including a great one of the FDR West Sitting Room from Christopher S.

New front page - Nixon Briefing Room

Changed the front page to that great picture of the Press Briefing Room when it was brand new in 1970. It makes you want to kick back, have a cigarette, leaf thru Look magazine, and wait for Ron Ziegler to come and tell you what statements are inoperative today.

Green Room and more

Added some pictures of the Green Room room and one stray pic of the old main staircase with the Clevelands leaving for their honeymoon, at least as it was imagined by a Harper's Weekly illustrator. Not as much change in the Green Room as in others. The the chandelier globes and ceiling decor are about the only clues in 1880s and 90s. It's possible that I just haven't found a real 1893-1902 photo yet.