I think this is our first look at the tennis court with basketball hoops added so the president can play full court. The old basketball court is only half court. Lincoln’s basketball court was only a quarter court. And Hoban’s original basketball court was only an eighth court–totally unsuitable for modern basketball.*
* Would I steer you wrong?
Time‘s 100 Days series. Great photos inside the mansion and West Wing. Thanks, Colton and also Barry and Antonio!
UPDATE: Added some of these and also another pic of the court from the UConn girl’s team visit.
The Elliptical Saloon 
Derek, here are some good pics you may want to consider adding (from the WH website, in hi-res):
Oval Office corrdior
Oval Office
What do you think?
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1893255_1874078,00.html
Great time gallery linked above. Do you need rights/permission to post some of those great photos?
Colton, thank you for sharing that link. Keep sharing that stuff, it’s great to get those kinds of photos. I really like the photo outside the Oval Office at night, not just because I have an interest in the Presidency, but I’m also into photography. I think that pic should for sure go on the site, and I say put that up as the main pic for site for a while. There are other photos I think should be on the WHM site. Ones I highly suggest putting on the site President Obama working in the Treaty Room (pics 25 & 47), for sure the one where we see the windows behind him, and can see the door in the corner. Also the pic of President Obama and VP Biden during a light moment which appears to be the Oval Office Corridor, and the pic of them walking on the colonaide, which appears to be the one hat connects the WW to the Residence. Not sure if you want to add these, but pics 7 & 40 of Obama in the OO has the west door open showing the hall to the private study and dining room. Also pic # 11 with Obama in the OO shows the door to the personal secratary open, and you can clearly see a window that would be in her office.
Those are some excellent pics of the White House, Colton, also among the rest of TIME’s gallery. Also thanks to Steve for your input regarding that. Some of them are really worth adding to the site.
No problem. I’m always happy to share whatever I find. I really enjoy the special access TIME has in the WH. This was also true under President Bush.
The operations of the WH and President can seem mysterious sometimes and these sorts of photo collects give us a glimpse into our government at work,
Derek or Pete, we able to get some of the pics like the ones I mentioned and even some others, on the WHM site? I know I mentioned it before, but how’s it coming along to get some pics that were shown during the Al Roaker – Chris Morris interview (Youtube), espesially the one with Chenny in the dining room waitng on G.W.B and the door is open that shows the proximity of where the President’s private study is?
If you find good pix on-line, then email them to Derek. Some of those pix from the Roker interview with Christopher Morris just have not shown up on-line in useable format. The shot of V.P. Cheney seated in the dining room waiting for the President to hang up the phone has been posted on the Dining Room page for a while now.
Rod, I admit I haven’t looked at the page for the dining room in a while, and I didn’t know that photo was on there. It’s a great photo, and shows the proximity of the private study to the OO and dining room. It’s a differnt pic than the one on the
Roker-Morris interview, but I must say I like the photo on the dinning room page better. Thanks for pointing it out.
I thoroughly enjoy this website. I find myself visiting it often for updated pictures and commentary. This is truly a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about the White House. I would like to ask some questions, however, and hopefully some of you can help me out. First, on the third floor of the residence, what are the “offices” used for? Are these rooms used by the secret service? Second, when a new first family comes into the White House, do they get to pick and choose where portraits, busts of former presidents, and other works of art are placed in the rooms (both on the state floor and the 2nd and 3rd floors) of the White House? I’ve noticed in many pictures that various works of art are located in different rooms from the Clinton to the Bush White House. And finally, how often is the promenade used (both on the rooftop and on top of each of the wings) for parties and events hosted by the President?
Ken, welcome and feel free to have input or questions about the White House anytime. I know each first family gets to decorate the living quarters with furniture and art work that suit their taste, but for more elaborate answers, I’ll leave that up to others. This is a great site indeed to learn about the WH, i admit I learned more from it and enjoy talking with others about a passion of mine with the Presidency. Join the group white house fanatics on facebook, there you can learn a lot as well.
I forgot to mention, on the ground floor of the West Wing, you can see there is an office for secret service. Beyond that, not sure where else they might have an office on the WH grounds. Since the topic of secret service is brought up, I would like to ask this… does anyone know all or most of the spots at the WH secret service is located? That tells us how much security there is to protect the President and first family, beyond what we see and might know. Not sure if that info is even possible to know all the locations. Of course all the gates and entrances have the uniformed division of secret service, but what other spots are there secret service…either uniformed division and/or special agents? I’m sure any spot that can lead up to the private living quarters and near the situation room theres gota be some.
The USSS has an office on the ground floor of the Residence and an office on the ground floor of the West Wing and an office in the East Wing. It has desks in several other locations, including all entrances to the West Wing and East Wing.
Wherever the President or other protectee is located in the WH, agents are standing either in the same room or (usually) outside of the doorway to that room, and if the room has windows, then they also stand outside of the building by those windows, regardless of the weather.
The only exception I know of is on the second and third floors of the Residence. The rules change from time to time as to whether agents must be present in the hallways on those floors. Some first families prefer that agents not be present on the private floors.
More great photos form the WH:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/04/28/Delivering-on-Change-an-Inside-Look/
From*
Another question regarding security arrangements: Do the president and spouse (and children, and grandmother) wear devices that allow the Secret Service to pinpoint their locations at all times? If so, I can understand why so many of the former occupants have not given but qualified endorsement to life in the White House. Such a tether; like having to have a cell phone attached to you all the time.
Well, here is a data dump overload from Pete Souza, 100 days worth of candid pix:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/sets/72157617357737487/
Rod, you mention if a protectee is in a room with a window, an SS agent is ouside that window…if it’s on the second floor, how can they stand outside that window…? =) ok just being a smart a** there, really though, if an SS agent is outside that window, wouldn’t that make it known that a certain person is in that room? The point is not to have general people know where they might be in the WH. There’s agents on top, and theres counter snipers up there, so why actually have an agent outside? I can understand inside right by the window though. Also if a first family decides not to have agents on the private floors, I’m sure they have to be very close by like in the elevators and at the bottom of the stairs. Personaly, if it were me, at least have an agent at the bottom and top of the stairs and elevators, and one in the elevator. They can stay near the elevator area, just prefer not anywhere beyond that for the private floors. Does President Obama’s mother- in law live with the FF at the WH, and if so, does she too recieve SS protection?
As for agents standing outside of windows, I meant that they stand outside exterior doorways, most of which also serve as windows, when protectees are present. There are exterior windowed doors from the Oval Office, the President’s Outer Office, and the Cabinet Room, all along the colonade. There also are windowed doorways from the Private Dining Room and the Chief-of-Staff’s office, to the private patio. And, there is an exterior doorway from the Press Briefing Room.
There are uniformed agents roaming outside of the buildings all the time, as well as cameras and listening devices.
I don’t know anything about how the current first family deals with protection on the private floors or which relatives have protection.
Thank you Colton and Rod for sharing more photos. Rob, also thank you for the feedback about the SS. Colton, from the first set of pics, and now another…I keep adding some pics to a portfolio I made, with so many photos it becomes work…! It’s ok, I like seeing the photos and keep doing stuff on my interest of the Presidentcy! =) Again, I say some photos gota go on the WHM site…espesially the one of Obama in the private study, thats one to add for sure to the private study page. WH photog Pete sure likes to use door ways to the OO as a frame I noticed. =)