New front page – site down

I put a new snowy image on the front page of the site.

At this writing, the site is temporarily down. This is true of my other sites as well, so it seems to be a GoDaddy problem.

EDIT 30 minutes later… Everything seems back to normal now.

I’ve deleted my Facebook account

I haven’t used my Facebook account to get to the Facebook White House Fanatics pages in a long time, largely because I really never liked Facebook. I’ve never used my account for anything else, and I’ve become annoyed recently at being contacted by

• People I haven’t known for 30 years adding me as a friend
• The way I’ve unintentionally authorized access to my Facebook account information when commenting on other Websites
• The long history of Facebook privacy scandals (most recently the one in which founder Mark Zuckerberg’s own private photos were accessed)

If you get a message saying I’ve “defriended” you or deleted my account or whatever, rest assured it isn’t personal. I don’t hate you.

I just hate Facebook.

Turn of the century

I’ve added some new pictures from the early 1900s that I’ve just found. They enhance the TR and Taft era nicely.

I’ve also changed the front page, this time to a photo of the Clinton music room on the third floor that I first used over a year ago.

Front page – back to Monroe Room

I’ve switched the front page back to the 1960 Monroe Room, which I had planned for July before Betty Ford passed away.

So long, Betty Ford

CNN is reporting that Betty Ford has died at the age of 93. Gerald Ford died in June 2009 December 2006, also at 93. Outspoken about women’s rights and breast cancer awareness, she was also inspirational for her personal struggle against substance abuse, which left a legacy in the form of the Betty Ford Center. Best wishes to the Ford family.

New front page: Monroe Room, 1960

I’ve changed the front page to one of the Treaty Room back when it was the Monroe Room in 1960. I’ve always liked that decor.

An Historic Guide

I got an e-mail notice today that the new An Historic Guide is available, so I ordered mine. It’s been available for a little while, but I just got the notice.

I’m looking forward to official pics of the new Press Briefing Room and the walk-thru of the exterior, but I don’t think it will be all that amazing. I do recommend the White House History books tho. They’re wonderful.

New front page

I’ve changed the front page. A little cheeky, perhaps.

I’ve also changed the links on the right, since I took the mirror down months ago. And a couple of weeks ago I added a picture of the VP’s office, with new blue walls. Nice. Too bad we don’t get to see more.

New front page

I’ve changed the front page to the 2007 Lincoln Bedroom.

New front page and fixes

President's Dining Room new carpet

I made some behind-the-scenes changes this weekend and broke most of the images, but they should all be fixed now.

I’ve also added a pic of the President’s Dining Room (a.k.a. Oval Office Dining Room), where the carpet has been changed again.

And I’ve changed the front page image to the Reagan Rose Garden that I used a couple of years ago.

New front page and new photos

I’ve added several more new photos from the current White House and one of the Family Theater from the 1990s.

Ike third floor

I’ve uploaded a few more new images from the Kennedy library, this time from the third floor. It’s amazing to see these rooms in vivid color before the redecoration.

1960-61 second floor and ground floor

I’ve added a dozen or so photos from the new Kennedy Library material to the site. They are focused around the second floor and ground floor of the residence in 1960—before the Kennedy renovation—and a few from 1961.

More to come!

JFK photos released

Stephen M notes that the JFK Library has released 1000+ digitized photos of from the Kennedy administration, including many never-before-seen images. There are some great ones of the China and Vermeil rooms and some rooms upstairs and even on the third floor.

Search their digital archives.

And if you figure out how we can download the full-sized image, please post a comment here. These are public domain photos. American taxpayers paid for them. We should have them in their highest-quality form.

Happy new year!

I’ve changed to front page again, and I’ve added a few new photos from the White House Flickr feed from the last couple of months. I have some other things to get to as well.

Also, I got this note I’m not sure about. I missed the documentary in question….

Last month, I saw a PBS documentary about the role of the White House photographer, and it showed him, Pete Souza, in his office. The office is identified in the documentary as the former White House barbershop, with the only remnant of its former use being the mirror on the wall.

This contradicts the museum’s photos, which suggest that the Homeland Security Council office is in the former barbershop.

New work coming

I’m not dead, just busy with work and devoting all greatly diminished spare time to my other websites. I do have new material I’m intending to post. Over the next couple of weeks, when I’m off for the holidays, I’ll be able to update the site substantially.

New front page: Halloween

I changed the front page to last year’s surreal Halloween moment on the north lawn. As always, you can find all the front pages ever on the Front Page gallery page.

New Oval Office and more

The White House posted a great new collection of photos on the official Flickr feed several days ago. They include not only interesting angles in the new Oval Office, but glimpses of the Dip Room, the state floor rooms, the Cabinet Room, and even the Oval Office Patio. I’ll be adding some of those to the site in the coming days.

Explore the White House

Just got a note from Tim Gilleand announcing the launch of his site ExploreTheWhiteHouse.com, a fantastic 3D model of the interior of the White House. It’s still in the early stages, but I hope you’ll join me in welcoming and congratulating Tim and his brothers on the work their doing. I look forward to see more of it!

New front page—new Oval Office

I’ve changed the front page to the new Oval Office.

New Oval Office decor!

Hey! The White House changed the Oval Office decor yesterday! It’s a subtle change, but it looks good. (Thanks to Bob M for the tip and to all those who noted it!)

There aren’t any photos of it up on the White House official stream, so I’m looking for the best source pics to add to the Oval Office page.

PS Thanks for all the birthday wishes!

An Historic Guide

Stephen M reports that the WHHA says:

The White House: An Historic Guide is temporarily out of print.  A new
edition is currently in production and will be released in early 2011.  It
will include updated text and photographs and will mark the 50th anniversary of the guide and the association.

We will post ordering information on our website soon.

So a new edition is in the works. Hooray!

TR’s Blue Room chandelier

I got a request for information about a certain chandelier. The WH is not good about explaining where furnishings have gone, but if anyone happens to know, I’d be grateful.

I’m trying to find more information (any information, really) about the original French Renaissance chandelier than hung in the White House’s Blue Room circa 1902. It was removed during the Truman renovation, and I’ve no idea what became of it. More to the point, however, I’d simply like to know more about it (the maker, the dimensions, and so on.) It was a beautiful monstrosity, way out of proportion to the space–which, I think, became the reason given for its replacement.

There are only a few places in the mansion it could be, and it doesn’t seem to be in any of them. Big chandeliers being rather out of style, it’s likely been retired. It seems unlikely that has been moved to another government building. So, in all likelihood, it’s in any one of a dozen government warehouses, collecting dust.

Carter White House solar panels

In 1979, the Carter administration installed 32 solar thermal panels on the roof of the West Wing to provide hot water for the building. In 1986, the Reagan administration removed them when the roof was resurfaced. So what happened to them? Scientific American has a detailed story.

Inside the First Lady’s Office

Politico has an article about the Michelle Obama East Wing office that includes a couple of good pictures that I’ve added to my page on her office.

Obama, who redecorated the space last summer, has gone for something more casual than the gold tones of the Oval Office: an off-white, overstuffed, living-room-type couch — with floral and other printed pillows — along with two brown-and-cream-patterned chairs. The space is painted a warm, cozy peach color, and the windows feature plantation-style shutters rather than curtains or blinds.