Please note that the following is a digitized version of a selected article from White House History Quarterly, Issue 61, originally released in print form in 2021. Single print copies of the full issue can be purchased online at Shop.WhiteHouseHistory.org No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All photographs contained in this journal unless otherwise noted are copyrighted by the White House Historical Association and may not be reproduced without permission. Requests for reprint permissions should be directed to rights@whha.org. Contact books@whha.org for more information. © 2021 White House Historical Association. All rights reserved under international copyright conventions.
FOREWORD
A Journey Through White House Time When President John Adams ceremoniously arrived by horse drawn-carriage at the President’s House on November 1, 1800, the new home in which he took residence was barely habitable. The plaster was wet, the Grand Staircase was not yet completed, and the muddy grounds were littered with construction debris. The stream of time would bring the house to completion and through changes that ranged from those as practical as the addition of indoor plumbing and as urgent as freedom for the enslaved, to those as fantastic as the planting of an American flag on the moon and as beautiful as hospitality perfected. With this issue we look at a selection of historic moments at the White House against a backdrop of the magnificent clocks that have kept presidential time for more than two-hundred years. Journalist Danny Heitman opens our journey through time with the stories of the first water closets and bathtubs installed at the White House and a look at the evolution of plumbing through the Truman renovation. Through Watch Meeting—Dec. 31st 1862—Waiting for the Hour, a dramatic painting by William Tolman Carlton, art historian William Kloss takes us back to the moment when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in his White House office. Lina Mann visits the White House a century later to present the story of a American accomplishment that John Adams could not have imagined in 1800: winning a race to the moon. She chronicles the moment when the United States crossed the finish line and celebrated with an “interplanetary call” from the Oval Office. Luke A. Nichter recounts the history of an innovation with questionable value, the secret recording systems used by mid-twentieth-century presidents. President Adams made presidential hospitality an early order of business for the President’s House when he welcomed guests on January 1, 1801, for what would become a traditional New Year’s Day reception. Two hundred years later, Daniel Shanks, the first food and beverage usher, could be found at work elevating the practice of hospitality by perfecting the process by which wines were selected and served. Shanks shares the story of his road to the White House, which began in the vineyards of Napa Valley, and his memories of twenty-two years of service dedicated to ensuring that guests fully enjoy what might be their only opportunity to visit the Executive Mansion. “The clocks in the White House are by no means the most uninteresting things about the house,” reported the New York Times in 1898. The observation remains true today, and although the clocks that mark every historic White House moment are not the first thing a visitor notices, they are worthy of a pause for appreciating, and so with the help of William Allman, former curator of the White House, we have interleaved highlights from the masterpieces in the collection through our journey across White House time.
marcia mallet anderson editor, WHITE HOUSE HISTORY QUARTERLY
4
white house history quarterly
SH TE T EW RH ST OEC K B RUC IT F O R T H E W H I T E H O U S E H I S T O R I C A L A S S O C I AT I O N
AAgift gifttotothe theWhite WhiteHouse Housefrom fromthe theWhite WhiteHouse HouseHistorical HistoricalAssociation, Association,the thewall wall clock clock that that hangs hangs inin the the Ground Ground Floor Floor Corridor above the doorway leading toto thethe president’s elevator was custom made in in 2020 byby thethe Chelsea Clock Company, Corridor above the doorway leading president’s elevator was custom made 2020 Chelsea Clock Company, ininChelsea, The clock is is embellished with anan American eagle bearing a red, white, and blue shield inspired Chelsea,Massachusetts. Massachusetts. The clock embellished with American eagle bearing a red, white, and blue shield inspired bybythe Service ofof President James Monroe. The White House calligrapher added thethe numbers and thethe text theState StateChina China Service President James Monroe. The White House calligrapher added numbers and text “The President’s House.” “The President’s House.” wh w ihtiet eh ohuo sues eh ihsitsotroyr yq uqauratretrelryl y
55 5