The White House 1600 Sessions

Spring is a special time in our nation’s capital, when cherry blossoms bloom and the White House garden comes alive. Some spring traditions - like the famous White House Easter Egg Roll - date back to the 19th Century, while others are more recent additions. In this episode, White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin interviews Jim McDaniel, former Director of the White House Liaison for the National Park Service, and Ellie Schafer, former Director of the White House Visitors Office, about preserving the grounds and gardens and planning the iconic events that welcome thousands of visitors to the White House each year to celebrate the beginning of spring.

Who takes care of the thousands of historic artifacts in the White House, cataloguing and preserving everything from presidential portraits to presidential china? And how does that person balance the needs of a building that is both a museum and symbol of American democracy, as well as an office and a family home? Stewart D. McLaurin interviews former White House Curator William Allman about his forty-year career caring for a house full of American treasures through eight presidential administrations.

Death comes to every home, including the White House. From the loss of cherished family members to presidential funerals, there are many established White House traditions surrounding grief. Stewart McLaurin explores the history of presidential mourning with the Association’s Senior Historian, Matthew Costello, Calvin Coolidge biographer Amity Shlaes, and Kevin Eckstrom of the Washington National Cathedral.

The burning of the White House by the British in 1814 during James Madison’s presidency represented a low point in our political relations with England - but its restoration during James Monroe’s administration demonstrated a high point of our cultural connections to France. For the 200th anniversary of Monroe’s moving back into the White House, Stewart McLaurin interviews White Historical Association Historians Edward Lengel and Matthew Costello about the British invasion and a French restoration.

In 1963, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy helped arrange one of the most daring art exhibits in American history, bringing Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Mona Lisa painting from Paris to Washington, DC, and New York City. Stewart McLaurin talks to award-winning author Margaret Leslie Davis about her book ‘Mona Lisa in Camelot,” recalling the Mona Mania that gripped the country, and why this fascinating episode has been largely forgotten today.