Inside the White House: The Solarium

by Susanne Dietze

The Solarium on the third floor of the White House is often one of the First Family's favorite rooms. It is a private retreat where they can enjoy the view of the Mall and Washington Monument, spend time with friends, and sometimes entertain heads of state or staff meetings. 

The Solarium didn't exist in the early 20th century, but presidents made use of the White House roof in different ways. President Taft had a simple sleeping porch constructed for his family to sleep in during the hot, muggy Washington summers.

The Coolidges outside the White House. Public Domain.

In 1927, the Coolidges decided to transform the sleeping porch into a permanent structure, a square room atop the Yellow Oval Room. First Lady Grace Coolidge called it her "sky parlor."In the 1920's, people took to heart the benefits of fresh air and sunshine, so sunrooms were popular in private homes. She furnished it with porch furniture, a cot, a phonograph player, a record player, and a writing table, and insisted she not be disturbed when there, unless the matter was urgent.

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt gave the solarium over to their grandchildren, Buzz and Sistie Dall, who lived at the White House during FDR's first term. Eleanor began her day by visiting her grandchildren here, and often the president would join the grandchildren for lunch, events Buzz would later describe as great fun.

Once the children were gone, however, the Solarium grew quiet. FDR took his lunches there on doctor's orders, to escape his desk and the stresses of World War II.

During the Truman renovations, the Solarium was enlarged and changed in shape, from a square to an octagon, furnished with wicker furniture, a ping-pong table, and marbled linoleum. It became a place for card parties and family suppers. Eventually, a kitchenette was added.

Solarium after 1933, looking southwest, by Jack E. Boucher. Public Domain.

The Eisenhowers returned the Solarium to a playroom during the 1950s, and their children and grandchildren watched television there, played with toys, and visited parakeets High Glory and Pete and a canary named Gabby. Eisenhower enjoyed grilling his own meat on the deck outside the Solarium.

President Eisenhower cooking quail. National Archives. Public Domain.

When John Kennedy became president, his wife Jacqueline turned the Solarium into a preschool for her daughter Caroline. The room was furnished with bookshelves, tables, a sandbox, plants, and spaces for pets, including rabbits and guinea pigs. Up to 20 students attended, and their parents split the cost of the teacher's salary.

When Kennedy died, however, teenagers came to occupy the White House, and the Solarium came into its own as a "rec room." Luci and Lynda Johnson loved the Solarium--and freedom from the Secret Service. The room was furnished with a soda fountain, television, comfortable furniture, and record players, and the glass paneled door was replaced with a solid door so the servants couldn't peek in and watch them. 

The Nixons called the Solarium "the California Room" and enjoyed relaxing there, and while his name didn't stick, his family's use of the room did. Subsequent presidents and their families have used the room for relaxation purposes and informal suppers. The Carters enjoyed stargazing through a telescope here; the Clintons played Scrabble here and threw birthday parties for Chelsea; the Reagans ate dinners on weekends in this room, relaxed to read newspapers, and here, Ronald Reagan recovered from the assassination attempt on his life.

Gerald, Betty, and Susan Ford admire Liberty and her new puppies. David Hume Kennerly, 1975. Public Domain.

Occasionally, political events do take place here, but for the most part, it is a place of retreat, and throughout subsequent administrations, First Families will continue to use the Solarium as a place of rest, refreshment, and family.


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Susanne Dietze is a bestselling, RITA-nominated author. You can learn more about her award-winning romances on her website, www.susannedietze.com.

Outside the White House: History of the Swimming Pools

Historically, numerous American presidents enjoyed swimming for exercise, from John Quincy Adams (in the Potomac each morning!) to Teddy Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan. It wasn't until 1933, however, that presidents could swim at the White House. 

At the time, President Franklin D. Roosevelt often swam as therapy for his poliomyelitis, but had to wait until he vacationed at home in New York or in Warm Springs, Georgia. 

FDR in Warm Springs, GA, 1930. Public Domain.

In March of 1933, the New York Daily News proposed a campaign to raise money to build President Franklin Roosevelt a pool. It was a success, and the indoor pool was completed by June 2, replacing laundry rooms inside the west gallery, between the White House and the West Wing.

French doors opened into the Rose Garden, and rows of half-moon windows illuminated the rectangular pool. He used it, sometimes several times a day.

Later presidents enjoyed swimming, as well. Harry Truman  used the pool for exercise, wearing his glasses as he swam! John F. Kennedy used the pool at least twice a day to help alleviate his back pain, once at noon and once before dinner. Kennedy's father paid for a large mural painted on three of the room's walls of a Caribbean scene (painted by Bernard Lamotte).

Artist Bernard Lamotte puts the final touches on his mural depicting Christiansted Harbor in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. Swimming Pool, White House, Washington, D.C. Public Domain. Robert Knudsen. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston

During the Johnson's time in the White House, guests were welcome to dip into the pool. Swimsuits of all sizes were hung on the walls, ready to be worn. However, Johnson was known to swim without a suit, much to visitors' surprise.

Richard Nixon was not a swimmer, however, and by his administration, the White House had need of a press briefing room to accommodate television. The pool was covered to make room for the press, and today we know this room as the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room (in honor of President Reagan's Press Secretary who was wounded during the assassination attempt on Reagan's life.) Interestingly, the podium is directly over the deep end of the pool.

The mural remains in the basement below the Press Room, and it has been autographed by famous visitors over the years, from First Lady Laura Bush to boxer Sugar Ray Leonard.

When Gerald Ford came into office, he yearned to swim for exercise. He considered moving the press, but decided against it and in 1975, he had an outdoor pool and cabana built. The cabana contains showers, changing rooms, and an underground passageway that leads to the West Wing.

President Ford takes his first dip in the new pool, 1975. Public Domain.

Right away, Ford's son took scuba lessons in the pool. During the Carter administration, first daughter Amy practiced diving here, and during George H. W. Bush's tenure, First Lady Barbara Bush made frequent use of the pool.

White House Swimming Pool, 1992. Public Domain.

In 2002, the cabana was renovated to help with energy efficiency in the White House. More windows were added and solar panels were placed on top. 

Clearly, the White House pools have offered a form of exercise and relaxation to numerous presidents and their families through the years. 

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Susanne Dietze is a RWA RITA-nominated author of over fifteen romances. You can learn more about her on her website, www.susannedietze.com

Inside the White House: The Diplomatic Reception Room

When many people think of oval rooms in the White House in Washington D.C., they think of the Blue Room--and rightly so. It is a beautiful room on the state floor, site of the official White House Christmas Tree each December.

But the White House boasts two more oval rooms, one above and one below the Blue Room. The one downstairs holds great importance in matters of state: The Diplomatic Reception Room.

The Diplomatic Reception Room.  Public Domain.

This ground floor room is used as an entrance from the South Lawn, for the family and for visiting heads of state after an official State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn. Foreign ambassadors also present their credentials here.

Originally, the ground floor rooms of the White House were used by domestic staff for various tasks; this room was a place to polish silver and mend clothes. In 1837, however, the Van Buren administration installed the White House's first central heating system, and the furnace went here.

In the 1902 renovation by McKim, Mead, and White, the heating system was replaced, and the ground floor rooms were refinished. This oval chamber became a finished living space, but it was mostly used as a passageway until 1935, when Franklin Roosevelt turned it into a sitting room. He had the chimney opened so he could sit here for his famous "Fireside Chats."

FDR during a "Fireside Chat" on Jan 11, 1944. https://goo.gl/images/Aua6vK

The room was again refurbished during the Eisenhower administration (around 1960). Antiques in the Federal style were chosen, and the room was used to welcome guests as well as host receptions.

When Jacqueline Kennedy was first lady, the room received another makeover, one that gave the Diplomatic Reception its unique look: the Zuber et Cie wallpaper.

An unidentified White House worker hangs panels of antique wallpaper in the Diplomatic Reception Room, September 8, 1961. Robert Knudsen. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston. Public Domain.

August 28, 1963. Robert Knudsen. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston. Public Domain.

The antique French scenic wallpaper was produced by Jean Zuber et Cie in Rixheim in France around 1834. The Zuber et Cie wallpaper, officially titled "Scenes of North America," features 32 scenes based on engravings from the 1820's. Printed on small sheets of paper with wood blocks, the scenes include Boston Harbor, West Point, Niagara Falls, the Natural Bridge in Virginia, and New York Harbor. 

Detail of the Zuber et Cie wallpaper. Public Domain.

Since the room lacks natural light, the colorful panorama gives the room a brighter aspect. The blue and gold color scheme of the furnishings contributes to the welcoming air. 

Floral arrangement and close up of the wallpaper. April 10, 1962. Robert Knudsen. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston. Public Domain.

Beginning in 1983, the rug also began to complement the space not only with its coloring, but its symbolism: the rug's  border incorporated emblems of each of America's 50 states.

President Barack Obama is briefed by Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, on the investigation of the 15 April 2013 bombings in Boston, in the Diplomatic Reception Room, April 18, 2013. Note the state's symbols on the rug's border. By Pete Souza. Public Domain.

First Lady Melania Trump has replaced the rug, and now, instead of the state's emblems, the rug's border features each state’s official flower.

The new rug is more beige than yellow. https://goo.gl/images/pfjdis

Many important introductions and beginnings have occurred in this room. One such recent occasion was when Malia Obama's prom date arrived to pick her up. He was ushered into "The Dip" (as it is often called) to meet the First Family. One can only imagine how nerve-wracking that must have been!

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Susanne Dietze is the award-winning author of over a dozen romances with Timeless Heart,. You can learn more about her at www.susannedietze.com.

Inside the White House: The Map Room

The Map Room is on the ground floor of the White House, home of the American President in Washington D.C.. It received its name in World War II, when it was used by President Franklin Roosevelt as a situation room.

The Map Room, 1994. Public Domain.

In its earlier days, the room was a utilitarian space in the basement. During the Administration of Chester Arthur, however (1881-1885), a billiard table was installed in the unfinished room, and subsequent presidents enjoyed using the room as for billiards. (Billiards had been played at the White House since the days of John Quincy Adams, but there as yet was no designated room for the game.)

Chester A. Arthur, a president who enjoyed billiards. Public Domain.

When Theodore Roosevelt moved in, however, he got rid of the billiard room. An active man, he did not find the game inspiring. During his Administration, in 1902, the entire White House was renovated, and new uses were found for the updated, finished rooms on the ground floor.

President Wilson brought back the billiard room, but the Hoovers fashioned the chamber into a quieter space. It was used as doctor's treatment room, as a place for household staff to meet, and as a waiting room for guests.

In World War II, however, President Franklin D. Roosevelt used it as a place to follow the course of the war. 

Army Officer in the White House Map Room, WWII. https://goo.gl/images/EUY1ga

FDR, 1933. Elias Goldensky (1868-1943). Public Domain.

The room was renovated during the Truman Administration (1949–1952), paneled in with wood from the original load-bearing timbers of the house. Sandstone removed from the house was crafted into a mantel, paced here. Above it hangs the last situation map prepared for President Roosevelt, on April 3, 1945. 

In the early 1960's, the room was used as an office for the newly-minted Curator of the White House, and donations were cataloged here. 

Curator's office. Note the wood paneling from the Truman renovation. Robert Knudsen. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston; public domain

Then in 1970, First Lady Pat Nixon worked with the Curator to redecorate the space, and it became a parlor, as it is today. 

 First Lady Betty Ford with Members of the National Women’s Party Following the Presentation of the First Alice Paul Award to Mrs. Ford in the Map Room at the White House. Gerald R. Ford White House Photographs 09/08/1974 - 20/01/1977. https://goo.gl/images/dcUqjF

The room was redecorated in again in 1994 in the Clinton Administration, in the Chippendale style, as it remains today. 

President Clinton in the Map Room. Public Domain.

It is used for television interviews, small teas, and social gatherings. Here, President Obama was sworn into office for a second time by Chief Justice John Roberts, who'd accidentally flubbed the oath. 

Chief Justice Roberts administers the Oath of Office a second time, January 21, 2009. Public Domain.

Visitors from Princess Diana to the Dali Lama have sat in the red upholstered chairs here. One can only image the stories these walls could tell.

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Susanne Dietze is the award-winning author of fifteen romances. You can learn more about her on her website, www.SusanneDietze.com.

Inside the White House: The Library

According to the 1801 inventory of the White House in Washington D.C., the room we now know as the library was "Room 17," an unfinished basement chamber used for laundry and storage. (The laundry was dried elsewhere, and Abigail Adams was known to have hung wet laundry in the unfinished East Room upstairs.)

The White House Library, looking west. Clinton Administration. Public Domain.

For over a hundred years, the 27' x 23' room was used by staff for various purposes. Then in Theodore Roosevelt's 1902 restoration of the White House, the room was finished  and transformed into a servants' locker room.

A White House library had been first established during the Fillmore Administration (1850-1853) but in the early 1930's, First Lady Lou Hoover decided to move it to the ground floor from the Yellow Oval Room (above the Blue Room), and the locker room was refurbished into a small library. There were few books in the library at that time, so The American Booksellers Association donated books, and it is still tradition for the ABA to present the president with books.

During the Truman reconstruction of the White House in 1952,  the room was paneled with salvaged timbers taken from the White House's former frame. In 1961, a committee was appointed to select specific works for the library which were deemed representative of American history, thought, and literature, as well as Presidential papers. These books are available to the Presidential family and staff.

President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev are photographed in the White House Library, Dec. 8, 1987. Public Domain.

The Library is furnished in the late Federal period style (1800-1820) and along with serving as a library, it is often used for teas and meetings. Decorated in soft gray and rose tones, the room boasts several important and interesting pieces of art, including a  gilded wood chandelier made around 1800 that once belonged to the family of James Fenimore Cooper, author of The Last of the Mohicans.

First Lady Barbara Bush reads to children in the Library during the 1990's. Public Domain. https://bush41library.tamu.edu/audiovisual/photos/44

A portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart hangs over the mantel. Five portraits of Native Americans by Charles Bird King also hang in the room, including this one of Hayne Hudjihini, Eagle of Delight.

Hayne Hudjihini - Eagle of Delight - by Charles Bird King, c. 1822. Public Domain.

Hayne Hudjihini (b. c. 1795 - d. 1822) was one Otoe tribe's Chief Shaumonekusse's five wives. In 1822, she visited the President James Monroe at the White House with her husband and a delegation of other chiefs.The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) commissioned Charles Bird King to paint portraits of Hudjihini and Shaumonekusse.

Soon after, Hudjihini died of measles. It is assumed she contracted the disease while traveling.

The original portrait of Eagle of Delight was kept at the Smithsonian Institution and sadly was destroyed in a fire in 1865, but King had made a personal copy, which was donated to the White House in 1962. a patron donated King's personal copy to the White House in 1962. 

Today, the Library is used for interviews, small meetings, teas, and other intimate events.

President Obama participates in an interview with Charlie Rose in the White House Library, Sunday, June 16, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) https://goo.gl/images/b2opfT

Today, visitors can look into the library, but not enter. Only special guests are permitted to peruse the shelves up close or curl up in one of the chairs for a cozy read.

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Susanne Dietze is the award-winning author of fifteen romances. You can learn more about her on her website, www.SusanneDietze.com.

Inside the White House: The Vermeil Room

The Vermeil Room is a chamber on the ground floor of the White House in Washington, D.C. While it's currently used as formal ladies' sitting room, it's most famous for being the room where the White House's collection of vermeil (pronounced ver-MAY), or gilded silver, is displayed.

The Vermeil Room, Clinton Administration. Public Domain.

For over a hundred years, the Vermeil Room was used as a storage room and, around 1825, it was transformed into a staff bedroom. During the 1902 renovation in Theodore Roosevelt's Administration, architect Charles Follen McKim altered several staff bedrooms on the ground floor for public use. The chamber was then used as a lounge adjacent to a ladies' restroom, and was called the Social Room. 

What is now the Vermeil Room in 1948. Public Domain.

The Social Room was updated during the reconstruction of the White House during the Truman Administration. It was paneled in pine, recycled from the house's no-longer-sound original 1815 structural pine beams, as were two other rooms on the ground floor: the China Room and the Library. At this time the Vermeil Room received a new, albeit short-lived name: the Billiard Room.

Shortly thereafter, in 1956, heiress Margaret Thompson Biddle--daughter of a prominent Republican and wife of a major general and diplomat--donated her impressive collection of 1,575 pieces of vermeil to the White House. The vermeil was stored in the Billiard Room, and the name of the room was altered to reflect this change.

The Vermeil Room, 1960, by Robert Knudson. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston. Public Domain.

The vermeil was displayed here, but it was not put to use until the early 1960's when a friend of Jackie Kennedy's suggested otherwise. At that point, some of the bowls and urns were then used to display flowers and fruit on the state floor. The White House was being refurbished at around the same time, and Kennedy's decorator, Stéphane Boudin, refurbished the Vermeil Room. He covered the display shelves with white velvet and painted the room a soft blue. He also added neoclassical mantels, white damask drapes with blue fringe trim, a blue and white carpet, and a gilded chandelier to echo the vermeil. The room was now a showcase for the vermeil, not a sitting room.

Sketch from the 1962 White House guide showing the Vermeil Room after Stéphane Boudin's changes. Public Domain.

Within a few years, First Lady Pat Nixon redecorated the room with green paint and draperies of gold, green, and blue. The room was altered again in the administration of George H. W. Bush, and again in 2006 by First Lady Laura Bush, her decorator Ken Blasingame, White House curator Bill Allman, and the Committee for the Preservation of the White House. The walls were painted ivory with a tint of green, and a circa-1829 center table was placed here, along with a sofa from around 1815. The room's lolling chairs were reupholstered in white silk damask. Drapes of olive and gold covered the windows, and a carpet woven in 1860 was placed on the floor. 

The Vermeil Room, 1990. Public Domain.

Today, the walls have a soft gold tint. Portraits of several first ladies are usually displayed here among the vermeil: the portraits of Jackie Kennedy (donned in a complimentary gown of gold), Lady Bird Johnson (wearing yellow), Frances Cleveland, Elizabeth Monroe, Eleanor Roosevelt, Pat Nixon, Lou Hoover and Nancy Reagan have all hung here, although at the time of my visit in June of 2018, Reagan's portrait hung in the downstairs hallway. 

 White House Chief Floral Designer Laura Dowling at work in 2010. Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy. Public Domain.

Public tours take visitors past the Vermeil Room, but everyday visitors cannot enter. One can only imagine what it must be like to sit here for a cozy conversation with a first lady, surrounded by gold.

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BIO: Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she's the award-winning author of over a dozen romances with Timeless Heart. A pastor's wife and mom of two, she loves fancy-schmancy tea parties, the beach, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama. Visit her website, www.susannedietze.com, and sign up for her newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bRldfv

Christmas Stamps: A Brief History

First USPS Christmas stamp issued. 

While most of us may not have the opportunity to own paintings created
by the great masters, there are little bits of art around us every day. Postage
stamps come to mind as amazing everyday samples of miniature works of art,
especially Christmas stamps.

There’s some debate as to who issued the first Christmas stamps. In 1898,
Canada issued a stamp picturing a world map with the inscription “Xmas 1898” on it. In 1937, Austria printed up red and green postage stamps, which bore the image of a rose and Zodiac signs. Hungary had the first commemorative stamps with the Nativity available in 1943.

Australia was the first country to begin printing an annual Christmas stamp. This began in 1957 with a stamp depicting a little girl kneeling in prayer and the Christmas star up in the sky above. 

Postal customers in the United States had been requesting a special stamp for Christmas for some time. In 1962, the United States Post Office created its first annual Christmas stamp. Imprinted with a wreath and two candles in red and green, the colors most associated with the holiday, the stamp was available for four cents. 

Classical art/cultural theme.
Painting by Hans Memling. 

Over a billion were sold that year, with the first print run of 350 million, which sold out quickly. After that, there was no doubt of the popularity of stamps created specifically for the Christmas season.


The next year, the Christmas stamp was designed by renowned Washington,
D.C. painter, Lily Spandorf. It symbolized the idea of the nation’s first family being at home, with a Christmas tree in the foreground, at night, with the White House lit up in the background. Sadly, three weeks after it had been first issued on November 1, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. 

Contemporary-themed stamp from 1970 with 'toy' theme.

Some contention rose over whether a stamp issued for the Christmas holiday violates the First Amendment clause prohibiting the government’s establishment of a religion. The postmaster general maintained it did not. Despite attempted legal action, the production of such seasonal stamps hasn’t been thwarted.

While some have been concerned that America shouldn’t have a religious-looking Christmas stamp, other organizations complained that the stamps weren’t religious enough. They were concerned that the attempt to commemorate Christmas with the postage stamps in the scope of tradition, minimized the true meaning of the holiday. 

Over the years, the U.S. Postal Service has attempted to address these concerns in a couple of ways. They began in 1966 by using the a painting of the Madonna nd Child by Flemish artist, Hans Memling from the 1400s. By using classic art, they appealed to those viewed this as a “celebration of culture.” This worked so well, they reprinted the stamp for 1967 and have often used such classical works of art to depict the Holy Family. 

Currier and Ives from 1970s.

Beginning in 1970, the USPS began issuing both a “contemporary” or secular and “traditional” or Christian stamp. The contemporary stamps have often shown an image of Santa Claus or other symbols of the season, while the traditional stamps are often of the Holy Family, which the USPS says reminds us of “family, togetherness, the joys of the season, and the birth of Jesus.” And isn’t that what Christmas is truly about? 

2016 contemporary 'Christmas Windows' theme.

For a mere 50 cents, you can possess a miniature work of art that will make you stop and smile during this hectic time of year and looks quite nice on a Christmas card envelope. These days there are more than two stamps to choose from. Whichever Christmas stamp you prefer—Merry Christmas to you and yours! 

2016 traditional stamp.