Please note that the following is a digitized version of a selected article from White House History Quarterly, Issue 72, originally released in print form in 2024. 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. © 2024 White House Historical Association. All rights reserved under international copyright conventions.
reflections Embracing the Future STEWART D. M C LAURIN PRESIDENT, WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
march 1, 2024, marks 81,570 days since President John Adams moved into the White House. Soon after moving in, he penned a letter to his wife, Abigail, who was on her way to join him. The letter included this famous passage: “I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.” Today this quotation is engraved in the mantel in the State Dining Room. Although George Washington was the first president, he never lived in the President’s House in the City of Washington, named for him. Adams was the second president and the first to take residence; since then, the White House has been home to forty-four presidents and their families. All who have lived in the house, worked in the house, and visited the house are woven into the tapestry of its history. Sharing their stories, so central to our nation’s history, is the mission at the White House Historical Association. In just two years, we will commemorate the semiquincentennial of the United States of America—its 250th anniversary. There is no more compelling time than now for the educational mission of the White House Historical Association to remind Americans of their history, the hopeful and the challenging, and to invest in future
generations a deeper understanding of American democracy with its call for the engagement of citizens at all levels. For this reason, the White House Historical Association is creating a 33,000 square foot educational experience at 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, one block west of the White House. It will be known as “The People’s House: A White House Experience.” This will not be a typical Washington, D.C., museum with objects to view behind glass, but rather an immersion into the spaces of the White House, a chance to “meet” the people who have lived in this historic home for 224 years, and deep dive into the role of the White House and
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the American presidency in our nation’s governance and leadership in the world. I could not be more excited about our plans to provide this resource for all generations of Americans. The People’s House: A White House Experience will be free and open to the public, beginning in late September 2024. More information is available on the website for this project, thepeopleshouse. org, including ways you can join us in helping to make it successful. The illustrations shown here are a small preview of the extraordinary opportunities that The People’s House: A White House Experience will deliver.
opposite and right Stewart McLaurin stops by 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., the site of The People’s House: A White House Experience. Cut away views of the new center reveal the second floor experiences (above), which will include a gallery about White House staff, three immersive alcoves, and a collection of interactive objects, and the first floor experiences (right), which will include a recreation of the Oval Office, a scale model of the White House, a representation of the Rose Garden and West Colonnade, a 360° immersive theater, and the White House Historical Association’s flagship store.
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