The Washington Monument

The most prominent structure in Washington, DC, The Washington Monument is also one of the earliest monuments to be built in honor of the first President of the United States, George Washington.  Its construction took place in two major phases, 1848-56, and 1876-84, the gap is contributed to a lack of funds, political turmoil, and uncertainty about the survival of the American Union.  Planning started in 1783, but it was not until 1836 with the establishment of the Washington National Monument Society that architect Robert Mills was selected. The original design included a nearly flat-topped obelisk surrounded by a circular colonnade that was removed due to funding concerns.

The first cornerstone for the obelisk was laid on July 4, 1848 and construction continued slowly until 1856 when mounting political turmoil and lack of funding halted progress.   As the country recovered from the Civil War, construction began again in 1876 when Lt.Col. Thomas L. Casey succeeded Mills as the architect on the project and altered the design to resemble an unadorned Egyptian obelisk with a pointed pyramidion. A slight color change in the white marble is visible at about 150’ where the original construction stopped.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was charged with completing the construction and the monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885.

Weighing 81,120 tons, the Washington Monument stands 555’ 5-1/8” tall and is open daily except for July 4 and December 25.  
For more information, visit www.nps.gov/wamo.

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True or False: “No Building In DC Can Be Taller than The US Capitol.”

Urban legend tells us that buildings in our Nation’s Capital cannot be taller than the Capitol Building; it’s not true, but it’s not all myth!

In 1910, The Height of the Buildings Act was passed to limit the height of buildings in Washington D.C.  The limitation decrees the height of buildings cannot exceed 130 feet or the width of the right-of-way road on which the building faces, whichever is shorter.  This Act has helped D.C. maintain a different feel than other major US cities and has preserved the “light and airy” character that Thomas Jefferson envisioned when working with Charles L’Enfant to design the layout of Washington D.C.

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Old Executive Office Building

 The Old Executive Office Building (OEOB), located adjacent to the White House, was built over a 17 year period from 1871-1888.  Designed by architect Alfred B. Mullet, the building housed the Departments of State, War and Navy.  The interior incorporated fireproof cast-iron structural and decorative elements including massive skylights above each of the major stairwells and doorknobs with cast patterns indicating which of the original three departments (State, Navy or War) occupied a particular space.

In its early days, the building was thought to be a hideous aberration; Mark Twain and Harry S. Truman both publicly lambasted it. The building’s architectural style is of the French Second Empire period, which unfortunately almost instantly went out of fashion and the building was ridiculed as an overly ornate confection. On the outside grounds, various cannons and guns captured in wars were placed as decoration. For a short period another “decoration” could be found outside as well: from 1909-1913, President Taft’s pet cow Pauline grazed on the building’s south lawn!

In 1919, The Treaty of Versailles, which ended WWI, was signed in the OEOB as was the United Nations’ Declaration in 1942. Dwight D. Eisenhower held the first televised Presidential news conference in the building’s Indian Treaty Room in January 1955.   Winston Churchill once walked its corridors and Japanese emissaries met here with the Secretary of State after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
The building continues to house various agencies that compose the President’s Executive Office, such as the Office of the Vice President, the Office of Management and Budget and the National Security Council.

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Earthquake Damages National Cathedral

The photos here show some of the damage sustained by the National Cathedral during a magnitude 5.8 earthquake that hit the DC area on August 23rd. More photos and information on how to make a donation to help restore this landmark can be found at: www.nationalcathedral.org.

Presidents, Heads of State and noted political and religious figures from throughout the world have participated at ceremonies within its walls.  The idea for a National Cathedral began in 1791 when president George Washington commissioned Major Pierre L’Enfant to create a visionary plan for the nation’s capital which was to include “a great church for national purposes.”  Construction officially began September 29th, 1907 when workmen laid the Cathedral’s foundation stone, which came from a field near Bethlehem and was set into a larger piece of American granite. Services began in 1912 in Bethlehem Chapel, the first portion to be constructed. In 1990, the completion of the west towers marked the end of 83 years of construction.

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Dupont Circle

The park was built in 1871 by the Corp of Engineers and was originally called Pacific Circle. In 1884, the bronze statue of Rear Admiral Samuel Francis DuPont was erected in recognition of his Civil War service.  In 1921, the statue was replaced with the current double tier white marble fountain designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French and architect Henry Bacon.  The central shaft was engraved with three figures representing the Sea, Stars, and Wind.  
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc50.htm

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The District of Columbia Boundary Stones

In 1790, Congress established 10 square miles on the Potomac River to be the Capitol of the United States.  President Washington recommended using land from both sides of the River and so 40 sandstone markers were set at one mile intervals on land ceded by Maryland and Virginia.

Virginia later reclaimed her lands in 1846, leaving the District of Columbia on the west side of the Potomac. The boundary stones are considered the first monuments erected by the United States.

***

Union Burial Society of Georgetown Cemetery

2616 Chain Bridge Road, NW

The Union Burial Society of Georgetown Cemetery founded in 1868 served as a small burial ground for African Americans in the area of Phillips Hill, now known as Battery Kemble Park. Existing records show it had ties to the Georgetown churches Mount Zion AME and First Baptist, and the Ebenezer AME Church on Capitol Hill. The remaining five acres that front on Chain Bridge Road were deeded by the US Government to freedmen.

The last burial took place in 1966 though there is a grave there with a 1969 date. The burial ground is privately owned and maintained by descendants of the original
association members. It is open to the public each Memorial Day.

***

A Ride To The Past

Trolley car 2732, built in 1947 by the St. Louis Car Company, is a bit longer but otherwise nearly identical to those that operated on the number 20 line which originated in Glen Echo Park. The number 20 line began at Union Station in Washington, D.C., ran west along Pennsylvania Avenue and M Street to Georgetown, and followed a private right-of-way parallel to the Potomac River.

Many longtime local residents once rode that very trolley into downtown DC and beyond. The trolley offered a scenic ride from the city to the country and also served commuters heading for the downtown area. Street-cars operated in suburban Maryland and Washington, DC between 1890 and 1962. A combination of the rise of the automobile, various economic downturns and buses eventually brought streetcar transportation to an end.

***

The First Monday of October

Each year, a Term of the U.S. Supreme Court begins, by statute, on the first Monday in October; the term usually continues until late June or early July.

The U.S. Supreme Court was established in 1789 by Article III of the U.S. Constitution.  When the court first convened in February 1790, it did so in New York City, then the nation’s capital. From 1791 to 1800, it assembled in Philadelphia, which served as the capital while Washington, D.C., was under construction. Starting in February 1801, the court began meeting in Washington, where it occupied various sites in the Capitol building for more than a century.

It wasn’t until 1929 that Congress authorized some $9.74 million for the construction of a building solely for the court. 145 years after the Supreme Court first went into session, it got a permanent home of its own.  The marble structure, in use since 1935, was designed by architect Cass Gilbert Sr., whose projects included New York City’s Woolworth Building (the world’s tallest skyscraper from 1913 to 1930).  Today, the building features its own police force as well as a top-floor gym, with a basketball court nicknamed “the highest court in the land.”

Tradition has it that the most recent appointee to the court is in charge of taking notes, answering phones, opening the door, and pouring coffee for his or her colleagues. Toward the end of Justice Stephen Breyer’s ten-year run as coffee server, he asked Scalia, “I’ve gotten pretty good at this, haven’t I?” Scalia, who is rumored to wield the court’s most caustic tongue, shot back, “No, you haven’t.”

Text courtesy of A&E’s History.com and the PBS NewsHour, 1/1/03

***

The (In)Famous Watergate

In 1965, an Italian real estate company with money backed by the Vatican unveiled one of the first big foreign investments in US real estate and DC’s first mixed-use development. The 10 acre location in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of the District had been the site of the Washington Gas Light plant. In the same neighborhood was a small restaurant, the Water Gate Inn, known for its popovers.

The architect of this landmark project, Luigi Moretti, designed the signature contemporary style of the Watergate complex, which featured apartments, a hotel, stores and offices. One of those offices, the Democratic National Committee Headquarters, would make world news due to an incident on June 16, 1972. It was on that evening during the Nixon administration that the office was burglarized, forever putting “The Watergate” in history’s lexicon.

When The Watergate first offered its 238 apartments for sale, prices ranged from $17,600 for an efficiency to over $200,000 for a penthouse. The hotel opened in 1967 and advertised that its staff spoke a total of 23 languages. Throughout the years, the hotel and apartments have been home to a long list of notables including: Bob and Elizabeth Dole, Alan Greenspan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Condoleezza Rice, John Warner, Alexander Haig, John Mitchell, Howard Baker, Alan Cranston, Jack Kent Cooke, Leonard Bernstein, Placido Domingo, Katharine Hepburn, Luciano Pavarotti, Dan Rather, Barbara Walters and Andy Warhol.

***

So Much Art, So Little Room

In 1923 Andrew W. Mellon, multi-millionaire industrialist and banker from Pittsburgh, moved to Washington DC and took up residence at the ultra luxurious McCormick Apartment Building at 1785 Mass. Ave. NW., today the site for The National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Mellon came to Washington to serve as the Secretary of Treasure and did so for 3 Presidents.  In 1933, after returning from his one year stint as US Ambassador to Great Britain, Mellon focused all his time and money on philanthropy and art collection. He had help with the latter with the assistance of England’s Baron Joseph Duveen, a legend at that time in the world of antiques and art.

When Duveen heard that his favorite buyer was back at the McCormick, he installed himself in the apartment directly below Mellon’s and filled it with his most valuable sculptures and paintings.  Before he set off for an extended trip, Duveen gave his upstairs neighbor the keys so that Mellon could go there whenever he liked to admire the art.

The ruse worked and Mellon ended up buying most of the treasures displayed there.  By this time, Mellon was in his eighties and had amassed enough art to gift the country with his collection.  He devoted the remainder of his life to that task and although he died in 1939 before construction began, the project went forward and became the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

***

The Ballad of Chevy Chase

God prosper long our noble King,
Our lives and safeties all!
A woeful Hunting once there did
In Chevy Chase befall.

"The Ballad of Chevy Chase" emerged as part of Scottish and English folklore, evolving from oral to written tradition, first in the form of the Scottish ballad, "Battle of Otterbourne,” then in the English version, the “Chevy Chase.” The ballad recounts the Battle of Otterbourne, a bloody battle between English and Scottish forces sparked by a hunting expedition, while incorporating other events that occurred during  the English-Scottish border warfare in the 14th and 15th centuries.

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The Battle of Chevy Chase

Chevy Chase, Maryland is thought to trace its name origin to the English ballad memorializing a famous 1388 battle at Otterbourne in the Cheviot Hills which ran along the middle of the border country between medieval Scotland and England and was used as hiding and hunting grounds for both.

"Chases" were unenclosed hunting grounds and the dispute began when Englishman, Lord Harry Percy, challenged the Scotsman, James, Earl of Douglas, by mounting a deer hunt in the hills. The battle was brutal and relentless and although the Scots prevailed, Douglas was killed as were many troops on both sides. The battle become part of Scottish and English folklore and the subsequent ballads were sung well into the 19th century in America as well as in Britain.

***

Chevy Chase Ragtime

One of the most famous early pianist and ragtime composers, James Hubert (Eubie) Blake, was born on February 7th, 1883 in Baltimore, Maryland.  He began playing the piano at age four, getting his first lessons on a battered old parlor upright.  Blake sang outside saloons in a vocal quartet at age 12, then began traveling in minstrel shows and playing in fine hotels in Baltimore and Atlantic City, while a teenager.

In 1914 Eubie published his first song, The Chevy Chase, also known as The Chevy Chase Rag, taking its name from Chevy Chase, Maryland.  It is a complicated piece to perform, written in true “ragged” form, with a variety of unexpected rhythmic stresses. Blake’s career began to take off in 1915, when he collaborated with Noble Sissle. Together they created many hits that still retain their charm today.  Blake and Sissle’s Broadway musical Shuffle Along, premiered in 1921.  It was met with great success, and is one of the first Broadway musicals to be written and directed by African Americans.

Blake received numerous awards from the music industry and from civic and professional organizations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981 and honorary degrees from Brooklyn College, Dartmouth College, and the New England Conservatory of Music.  James Hubert (Eubie) Blake died in New York on February 12, 1983.

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George Washington’s Family Crest

Compare the stained glass window (right) with the flag of the District of Columbia (left). Notice any similarities? Dating back to the fifteenth century, the window can be found in Selby Abbey, an Anglican parish church in North Yorkshire, England, and features the heraldic arms of the ancestors of George Washington. So what’s the connection between a church window and the flag of DC?

We consider George Washington to be the quintessential American, however the fourth generation Virginian was a relative newcomer to the colonies, his English roots extending back for many centuries.

The Washington family was very liberal with their use of the family crest. A quick Google search will reveal many instances of it peppered throughout England. The design - three red stars over two horizontal red bars on a white field - has been used since 1938 as the coat of arms and flag of the District of Columbia.

***

The Oak Hill Cemetery

Established by an Act of Congress in 1849, Oak Hill Cemetery lies on the edge of Georgetown along Rock Creek Park.  The cemetery’s land was donated by William W. Corcoran, founder of The Riggs National Bank (now PNCBank) and the Corcoran Gallery, and was graded/plotted by master engineer, Captain George de la Roche. James Renwick, Jr., architect of the Smithsonian Building and the original Corcoran Gallery, now the Renwick Gallery, designed the iron enclosure and the Chapel which is a fine representation of Gothic chapel structures. The cemetery itself is a major example of the 19th Century Romantic movement, the natural and not formal English garden, an acceptance and blending of nature.

Oak Hill’s history is largely 19th Century with a Civil War emphasis.  The burials and monuments on the grounds are mostly from that period.  Recently, a new project has been started to renovate the paths and walkways by excavating and installing double depth concrete crypts over which new Buckingham slate walks are installed, with appropriate spaces on each side for memorial stones. In this manner, new interment spaces are being made available, thus making Oak Hill a neighborhood garden with a continuing history.

***

The Bell of Re-Invention

Built in 1879, 1500 Rhode Island Avenue NW has experienced drastic changes and survived the revitalization of Scott Circle from a residential hub of DC to today’s commercial-heavy neighborhood. However, unlike many of its turn-of-the century companions, 1500 RI underwent a complete style makeover in the 1910’s when it was transformed from a red brick Victorian mansion to a stately white limestone Italian Renaissance home.

While not the first owner of 1500 RI, Alexander Graham Bell lived in the house from 1882 – 1889 after it was gifted to his wife, Mabel Hubbard, by her father. Bell lived in various DC properties while focusing on his inventions and continuing his family’s work in building programs to aid deaf individuals (including his most famous benefactor, Helen Keller). In 1889 the Bell’s sold 1500 RI to the incoming Vice-President of the United States, Levi P. Morton, who rented the home to many prominent dignitaries after his tenure as Vice-President.

In the 1940’s, 1500 Rhode Island Avenue was purchased by the National Paint and Coverings Association and is used as their national headquarters to this day. While not in its original state, we can be grateful that this piece of DC history still stands today and will be cared for by its owners for years to come.

***

Fletcher's Boat House

In the fall of 2004 Joe and Ray Fletcher gave up their contract with the National Park Service to operate the concession founded by their great grandfather. No one in the Fletcher family was interested in continuing the all-consuming business when the Fletcher brothers decided to retire. Neither of the Fletchers has gone away from the river and one said he "just wanted to step across the counter and be a customer".

Fletcher’s has been a passion for locals, tourists, members of congress and even presidents including John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter. Fletcher’s is a "step back in time" beneath the giant sycamores and glorious dogwood blossoms. If you want more information about Fletcher’s you can find it online at www.fletchersboathouse.com.

Whether you enjoy a bike ride along the C & O Canal, outstanding fishing, or a leisurely boat or canoe ride, Fletcher’s is a unique opportunity to enjoy the picturesque setting. Pack your picnic basket and head to the river!

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The Old Stone House

Located at 3051 M Street NW, this property was built in 1765 and stands as Washington DC’s last Pre-Revolutionary Colonial building on its original foundation.

In 1764, Christopher Layman, a cabinetmaker by trade, put down one pound, ten shillings, for Lot No. 3, a deep, narrow piece of land that sloped upward toward the rear from Bridge Street (now M Street NW). Using locally quarried blue stone granite, he built his house in the manner of dwellings in Pennsylvania where he, his wife Rachel, and their two boys came from joining artisans and trained workmen heading south to make a living in the town.

Layman died shortly after construction was completed, but used the house as both a residence and shop, as did subsequent owners. The house has been a clock store, a tailor’s shop, a house painter’s shop, a haberdashery, and an office for a used car lot.

Unlike many Colonial homes in the area, sentimental local folklore preserved the Old Stone House from being demolished.  For many years, popular belief had it that this was the house where George Washington and Pierre L’Enfant met to work on the layout of the city of Washington.  History has proven this merely folklore, but belief kept the house standing.

In 1953 the house was purchased by the U.S. Government and after a renovation by the National Park Service (NPS) was turned into a museum. Today, the home is 85% original to its 18th century construction.

circa 1890

Today

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The Trestle Bridge

The trestle bridge near the intersection of Canal and Arizona is an old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) bridge spanning Canal Road and the C&O Canal. The bridge was built in the 1870's and used on the mainline of the B&O Railroad. At the turn of the century, bridge technology changed from suspension bridges to steel truss structures and our bridge was disassembled. In the early 1900's when the Georgetown branch of the B&O line was built our bridge was taken out of storage and reassembled at its current site. Trains on this branch of the B&O ran twice daily between Maryland and Georgetown carrying lumber, cement, fuel oil, and other construction materials to Georgetown.

During the Korean War our branch of the B&O made night trips carrying troops from Fort Myer and Fort Belvoir out of the DC area.

It is said that the children of President Kennedy were so enchanted with the story of The Little Red Caboose that they begged for a ride on a real caboose. The special trip was arranged with the B&O RR and off they went. Mrs. Kennedy, the kids, and a few Secret Service agents for a caboose ride from Georgetown to the Dalecarlia waterworks and back again.

The line closed in 1986 and today the rail line and bridge span are part of the Capital Crescent Trail set in the beautiful Palisades above the Potomac River. Instead of the chug-chug of the steam engine and echo of its sonorous whistle, if you listen carefully, you can hear the footfalls of joggers and walkers and the whoosh of bicycle wheels.

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Metro Area Farmer's Markets

1. Bethesda Central Farm Market
7600 Arlington Blvd.  Bethesda, MD 20814
Sundays 9-1pm

2. Bethesda FRESHFARM Market
7800 Norfolk Avenue    Bethesda, MD 20814
Saturday 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM (May - October)

3. Montgomery Farms Women’s Cooperative Market
Wisconsin     Ave. & Bethesda Ave.
Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, 7am-4pm

4. Norman’s Farm Market
Massachusetts Avenue at the entrance to Westland Middle
Daily: Mid-June through Late-August: 9am-7pm
Weekends: May and September-October: 9am-4pm

5. UDC Farmers Market
4200 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20008
Saturday 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM (May - November)

6.Freshfarm Market at Dupont Circle
Massachusets Ave, NW & 20th St, NW
Sundays, 8:30am-1pm

7. Georgetown Farmers Market
2600 O Street NW    Washington, DC 20007
Wednesday 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM (May - October)

8. Union Market
6th St, NE & Neal Pl, NE
Wednesday-Friday, 11am-8pm
Saturdays & Sundays, 8am-8pm
 
9. Eastern Market
7th St, SE & Pennsylvania Ave, SE
Tuesday-Friday, 7am-7pm
Saturday, 7am-6pm

Sunday, 9am-5pm

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Blair House

Each President-Elect resides in the Blair House at 1651 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW for the five days preceding the inauguration. Blair House was built in 1824 for Dr. Joseph Lovell, first Surgeon General of the United States. This historic landmark now serves as the official guesthouse for the President of the United States. In 1836 it was purchased by Kentuckian Francis Preston Blair, Sr., a member of President Andrew Jackson’s “Kitchen Cabinet and renowned political journalist. In 1852 the Blairs built a house next door for their only daughter. Later, their son Montgomery Blair resided in the house while he was an advisor to President Lincoln before and during the Civil War.

In 1942 it became the official residence of dignitaries from around the world and also was a temporary home for President Truman while the White House was being remodeled. Blair House is now a complex of four connected townhouses. Significant renovations took place during the 1980s with a new wing added on the north side. The combined square footage of the four adjacent townhouses exceeds 70,000 square feet , making it larger than the White House.

***

A Hidden Resource

Did you know that there is a “National Aquarium” and it’s located in downtown DC?  This official national resource, established in 1873 and at its present location since 1932, is the oldest aquarium in the country and surprisingly is located in the basement of the  U. S. Department of Commerce Building on the corner of 14th And Constitution Avenue NW.  Many of us remember this national “treasure” as dark, cramped and dank with decrepit signs and features; a place that you might go to once, but never again.

In June 2008, the 10,000 square foot space housing piranhas, sea-horses, alligators and sharks was finished being renovated in a five-year, $2 million-plus project and

focuses on national marine sanctuaries with the theme: “America’s Aquatic Treasures”.

It’s no rival for the enormous Baltimore Aquarium, but it is in our backyard and the size manageable for a quick visit when heading downtown.

It is not one of the free DC destination sightseeing spots as paid admission is required.

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Blizzard of January 2010 Breaks Former Record Set in 1888

The Blizzard

Now that the worst is over, they predict
Something messy and difficult, though not
Life-threatening. Clearly we needed
To stock up on water and candles, making
Tureens of soup and things that keep
When electricity fails and phone lines fall.
Igloos rise on air conditioners, gargoyles
Fly and icicles shatter. Frozen runways,
Lines in markets, and paralyzed avenues
Verify every fear. But there is warmth
In this sudden desire to sleep,
To surrender to our common condition
With joy, watching hours of news
Devoted to weather. People finally stop
To talk to each other - the neighbors
We didn’t know were always here.
Today they are ready for business,
Armed with a new vocabulary,
Casting their saga in phrases as severe
As last night’s snow: damage assessment,
Evacuation, emergency management.
The shift of the wind matters again,
And we are so simple, so happy to hear
The scrape of a shovel next door.

-Phillis Levin
 
“The Blizzard” from Mercury by Phillis Levin, published by Penguin Books.

***

Bizzard of 2009

"Now that the worst is over, they predict something messy and difficult, though not life-threatening. Clearly we needed to stock up on water and candles, making tureens of soup and things that keep when electricity fails and phone lines fall. Igloos rise on air conditioners, gargoyles fly and icicles shatter. Frozen runways, lines in markets, and paralyzed avenues verify every fear. But there is warmth in this sudden desire to sleep, to surrender to our common condition with joy, watching hours of news devoted to weather. People Actually stop to talk to each other - the neighbors we didn't know were always here. Today they are ready for business, armed with a new vocabulary, casting their saga in phrases as severe as last night's snow: damage assessment, evacuation, emergency management. A shift of the wind matters again,And we are so simple, so happy to hear a scrape of a shovel next door."

-Phillis Levin

"A Blizzard" from Mercury by Phillis Levin, published by Penguin Books.

Copyright 2001 by Phillis Levin. Reprinted by permission of the poet.

***

The White House Christmas Ornament: 2016

The 2016 White House Christmas Ornament honors the administration of Herbert Hoover, who served as the thirty-first president from 1929 – 1933. The ornament is inspired by the fire trucks that responded to the 1929
Christmas Eve fire at the White House and also, the engines the Hoovers presented to children the following Christmas. The ornament’s engine carries a Christmas tree for delivery to the White House.

December 24, 1929 – President and Mrs. Hoover were entertaining his staff and their families. The drama began when the president was informed: "the executive office is on fire!”. President Hoover rose from the dinner table and asked the men to follow him to the West Wing, where they rescued as many of the president’s papers as time allowed. The four-alarm fire brought nineteen engine and four truck companies to the White House. One hundred and thirty firefighters began to battle the blaze. The bitter cold temperatures froze some of the hoses. By about 10:30 p.m., the fire was extinguished.

Apparently excessive heat from a blocked chimney flue or defective electric wiring had caused pamphlets stored in the attic to ignite, and fire had spread quickly. Congress would soon pass a special appropriation to rebuild the uninsured office wing. Hoover and his aides moved back into the remodeled West Wing on April 14, 1920.

Source: White House Historical Association

The White House Christmas Ornament: 2015

This year’s ornament honors President Calvin Coolidge, who
served as the thirtieth president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. The ornament is a depiction of the National Christmas tree illuminated from within and hung with ornaments representing the events of Coolidge’s life and presidency.
Coolidge was vice president to Warren G. Harding and was known for his withdrawn and reserve nature. On August 3, 1923, President Harding’s sudden death put him in the White House. His oath of office was administered by his father in his father’s sitting room in Vermont where Coolidge was visiting. Light was provided at that 2:47 am ceremony by a kerosene lamp, which is included on the tree of the 2015 ornament.

ORNAMENTS ON THE TREE:

Coolidge Birthplace and General Store:
Coolidge was born in a small one and a half story house attached to the two-story family general stove.
Baseball:
Coolidge and his wife were baseball fans and temporarily transferred their allegiance from the Boston Red Sox to the Washington Senators, who won the World Series in 1924 and the American League championship in 1925.
Eagle Feathers:
On June 2, 1924, Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act, which granted full citizenship to Native Americans.
Radio Microphone:
On December 6, 1923, a presidential address was broadcast on a radio network for the first time as Coolidge spoke to a joint session of Congress.
Rebecca the Raccoon:
A little raccoon was sent from Mississippi to be part of the White
House Thanksgiving meal in 1926, but the Coolidges liked her so
much they adopted her as a pet instead and named her Rebecca.
Fishing Basket and Cowboy Hat:
Coolidge was fond of fishing, including in the Black Hills of South
Dakota where he enjoyed wearing a cowboy hat and Western garb
while on a two month vacation in 1927.

***

The White House Christmas Ornament: 2014

The 2014 White House Christmas ornament honors the administration of Warren G. Harding, the twenty-ninth president of the United States from 1921-1923.  As a young boy, Harding dreamed of being a locomotive engineer - a wish that was to come true for 51 minutes when as President, he took over the controls on the Alaskan railroad during the “Voyage of Understanding,” his famous transcontinental speaking and sightseeing tour. The Presidential Special, the train that carried President Harding west at the outset of his ambitious voyage, and that would tragically carry his casket back east following his sudden death just two months later, is the inspiration for our 2014 ornament.