On This Day – October 13th

The United States Presidential residence, The White House, whose construction began on 13th October 1792 has had various additions commissioned by the first families that have inhabited it over the years.

One such is the Solarium, hidden away on the top floor of the building, and originally added by William Taft in the early 1900s as a simple structure for him and his family to sleep in on hot nights.

It was improved in 1927 when the third floor was expanded, and Grace Coolidge called it the "Sky Parlour". It was redesigned again in the 1952 Truman reconstruction and now includes a kitchenette.

From the beginning, the Solarium was the private domain of the first family. Mrs. Coolidge wrote, "It was understood that when there I was not to be disturbed, unless for some urgent reason." She furnished the room with "a cot bed, a writing table, some porch furniture, a phonograph and a portable radio," which provided "comfort and entertainment."

It has been a particular favourite of many first families. President Eisenhower like to grill on the Promenade just outside and eat and play bridge in the Sun Room. The Kennedys turned this room into a school room for Caroline and several other children. The Johnsons (after Caroline's semester ended), turned the room into a teen hangout for Luci and Lynda.

This room is also where Richard Nixon broke the news to his family in 1974 that he had chosen to step down as president. And Mrs. Reagan was in this room with Chief Usher Rex Scouten when she was informed the the president had been shot.

More than eighty years after the Coolidges added their Sky Parlour, the Solarium remains unique among White House rooms. Part hideaway, part public space, it changes function to suit the family living there. it is the only room in the White House that first families can always call their own.

You can read bout more of the interesting aspects of the White House here.

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