AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS 



The East Room — ^unquestionably the most famous room in America — is entered by the 

 new stairs from the lower hall at its north end. It is a magnificent apartment, eighty feet long, 

 forty feet wide, and twenty -two feet in height. The walls are paneled throughout with wood, 

 save for a base of red Numidian marble, the panels being enclosed between pilasters supporting 

 a finely modeled cornice. Over the doors and above the panels are sculptured reliefs — twelve 

 in all — illustrating ^^sop's fables. The woodwork is wholly in white, with a high enamel finish; 

 the four mantels are of richly colored marble, and the curtains and hangings are of yellow. 

 The floor is superbly polished, and the ceiling, from which hang three immense crystal chan- 

 deliers, is delicately enriched with finely modeled ornament. Low stools, covered with the same 

 rich material that is used for the hangings, are aiTanged around the walls. It is a spacious 

 and magnificent room, very beautifully detailed, and arranged with exquisite taste. 



The State Dining-Room is at the opposite end of the corridor, at the west end of the 

 building. Its original area has been extended by including within it the western end of the 

 main hall. It is now large enough to accommodate a hundred persons at table. Above 

 a marble base the walls are finished with a superb paneling of beautifully grained English oak, 

 enclosed within pilasters of the same rich wood. Splendid Flemish tapestries, illustrating the 

 "Eclogues" of Virgil, hang against the wall, and to the cornice are fastened fine heads of deer, 

 moose, and other American animals. The mantel is of white marble, the curtains of rich green 

 velvet, the ceihng, in white, is beautifully detailed, and the floor is of polished marquetry. 

 Three other rooms along the back of the house complete the State suite. Adjoining the 

 State Dining-Room is the Red Room, which, like the other two, takes its name from its prevail- 

 ing color. Its walls are covered with rich red velvet. The mantel is from the State Dining- 

 Room. Many portraits, which formerly hung in the corridor and the East Room, are placed 

 here. The Blue Room is oval in form, and is one of the most exquisitely proportioned rooms 

 in America. Its walls are hung with steel l)lue ribbed silk, embroidered at the ceiling and 

 above the wainscot with the Greek fret in yellow silk. The windows have heavy curtains, 

 with a gilded eagle over the center of each. The marble mantel is supported by sheaves of 

 arrows tipped with gilt bronze. This room is used by the President for official receptions, 

 and its form and decorations are admirably adapted to ceremonial occasions. The Green 

 Room, which adjoins it on the other side, is hung in velvet with a silvery sheen, and, like the 

 Red Room, contains a number of portraits. The mantel formerly stood in the State Dining- 

 Room. The private dining-room, which adjoins the State Dining-Room, has ctirtains of red 

 velvet. The domed ceiling, like the other ceilings in the house, is white. 



A stone stairway near the main entrance of the East Room leads to the upper floor, 

 which is now wholly given up to the family life. The old Cabinet Room is now used by the 

 President as his workroom, and is an apartment rich in historic memories. The former offices 

 have been transformed into bedrooms, and, almost for the first time in its history, the White 

 House has been completely adapted to its proi)er uses, and is now a State residence, with ample 

 and handsome rooms for State functions, and quite sufficient space for the accommodation of 

 a large Presidential family. 



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