Margaret Truman Read online

  Upstairs, the East Room still features the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington that Dolley Madison rescued from British torches so long ago. On the mantels of the west wall are exquisite golden bronze candelabra bought in France by Elizabeth Monroe in 1817. The Green Room, completely redone by First Lady Pat Nixon in 1971, is still a treasure trove of Federal period furniture. The furnishings also include Gilbert Stuart’s wonderful portraits of President John Quincy Adams and First Lady Louisa Catherine Adams.

  The Blue Room, refurbished by Hillary Clinton in 1995, has seven of the gilded chairs Elizabeth Monroe purchased from one of Paris’s foremost cabinetmakers. The rest of the furniture is in the same elegant Empire style. The mahogany marble-top table is one of the oldest pieces of furniture in continuous residence; it was bought by the Monroes in 1817 and has never left the mansion.

  The Red Room is also in the Empire style. During the 1840s, this was called the Washington Room because Stuart’s portrait of the ultimate Founding Father resided here. Another Gilbert Stuart portrait, this one of Dolley Madison, is one of the room’s highlights. Dolley still emanates the marvelous good cheer that made her supreme.

  The State Dining Room is almost as impressive as the East Room. Enlarged over the years, it can now seat 140 people comfortably. Above the mantel hangs George P. A. Healy’s portrait of Abraham Lincoln, gazing down at the nation he preserved. He’s all by himself on these walls—a lonely splendor that no one will ever contest.

  That’s a small sample of what you’ll see in the President’s House when you visit during the hours when it is also the people’s house.

  Questions for Discussion

  How have historic events influenced public attitudes toward the White House?

  Why did it become necessary to restrict access to the White House?

  What do you consider the most interesting room in the White House and why?

  The entrance hall at the North Portico has witnessed over two hundred years of history. Let’s hope there are hundreds more to come. Credit: White House Historical Association

  16

  The White House Forever

  A HUNDRED YEARS from now, if another presidential daughter walks by the White House in the twilight, what will she see and think? I am prepared to bet a large sum that it will be the same glowing vision, igniting different memories but invoking essentially the same experience. She will wonder how she survived it—and at the same time feel a wry mingling of gratitude.

  By that time, the walls of the old house may be lined with titanium to withstand terrorist attacks, and the Secret Service may have equipment that enables them to do everything but read the minds of visitors. But the staff will still be smiling and undaunted by any and all presidential requests. Children will still play in the upstairs halls and pets will romp on the South Lawn. The West Wing will be as full of devoted, energetic staffers as it is today and the media will still be tormenting presidents and press secretaries with nosy questions. Diplomats and VIPs will mingle at receptions and state dinners. The first lady will preside in the East Wing, continuing the White House tradition of graciousness and good taste and perhaps exerting some womanpower along the way—that is, unless there is a first man, trying to carve out a new role for presidential spouses. The president will prowl the halls at night, studying the faces of his—or her—predecessors on the walls.

  Most important, the American people will remain fascinated by the President’s House. It will continue to be not only the most beautiful public building in Washington, but a living museum of the nation’s history. The mansion’s story will recall the triumphs and tragedies of the United States of America and its chosen leaders. At the heart of the story will be the underlying idea everyone who lives or works there senses: glory. I still feel it every time I walk into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I hope this book has brought some of it alive for you.

  MARGARET TRUMAN has won faithful readers with her works of biography and fiction, including her ongoing series of Capital Crimes mysteries. Her previous bestselling biographies are Harry S Truman, Bess W. Truman, and First Ladies. She lives in Manhattan.

  Also by Margaret Truman

  First Ladies

  Bess W. Truman

  Souvenir

  Women of Courage

  Harry S Truman

  Letters from Father:

  The Truman Family’s Personal Correspondences

  Where the Buck Stops

  White House Pets

  IN THE CAPITAL CRIMES NOVELS

  Murder in the White House

  Murder on Capitol Hill

  Murder in the Supreme Court

  Murder in the Smithsonian

  Murder on Embassy Row

  Murder at the FBI

  Murder in Georgetown

  Murder in the CIA

  Murder at the Kennedy Center

  Murder at the National Cathedral

  Murder at the Pentagon

  Murder on the Potomac

  Murder at the National Gallery

  Murder in the House

  Murder at the Watergate

  Murder at the Library of Congress

  Murder in Foggy Bottom

  Murder in Havana

  Murder at Ford’s Theatre

  Murder at Union Station

  Books published by The Random House Publishing Group are available at quantity discounts on bulk purchases for premium, educational, fund-raising, and special sales use. For details, please call 1-800-733-3000.

  2005 Ballantine Books Trade Paperback Edition

  Copyright © 2003 by Margaret Truman

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  Ballantine and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  Originally published in slightly different form in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., in 2003.

  Ballantine Books website address: www.ballantinebooks.com

  www.randomhouse.com

  eISBN: 978-0-307-41731-2

  v3.0