The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-08-28

terminates in lantern, syrmounted by
the Statue of Freedom which towers
| 3G7 1-2 feet above the esplanade.
There are enough beauties in architec-
ture about the building to consume pages
upon pages in the telling. 1t necessitates
many. many trips there to gain even a
partial knowledge of its real splenoor:
| in fact. the late Stanford White said a
person might go daily to the Capitol
for three months without wearing out the
marvels he went to feed upon.
Within this building are located the
Senate and House chambers, the room
where the Supreme Court hears lis cases
and hands down its dictums. the COM
mittee rooms. those reserved for the use
of the President on his visits 20 the
Capitol and the Vice President. as we'll
as National Statuary Hall and cunt
less other places of interest.
Next to the Capitol-indeed. if not
eclipsing it in interest to the visitor-is
the White House, or Executive Mansion
as it was called originally. In this build
ing all the Presidents except George
Washington have lived. The structure
was the first public building erected
in Washington. being designed by James
Hoban, who drew its plans after the
architecture of the seat of the Dukes of
leinster. which is near Dublin. Ireland.
President Washington chose the site
OF the bailding and laid the corner stone
on October Is. 1872. After he had left
office, he and his wife returned and
went through the building in 1879, just a
few days before his death John Adams
occupied it in 1907. Fourteen yeas later
President and Mrs. Madison were driven
who set fire to it. When it was recon-
structed. its Virginia limestone exterior
was painted white to cover the stains
of the burning and since that time it has
been known as the White House.
Several alterations We're made in 1902
and 1903 at the instance of President
Roosevelt. The new Executive Office
is to the west Of the original bIildng.
The public entrance is through a colon
made on the east and admits to the base
ment corridor. From here the visitor
can go to the main corridor by broad
stanways and thence into the East. Blue.
Green and Red rooms.
These four rooms each have his
tories of heir own. Tie las. l:olnI.
which is used for receptions and is
the State i,arlor. is foItv fee in width
and eIyhty-two feet in length. with
ceiling twenty-five feet high. The
two royal blue SeJ-:s vases in TINS
room wee given President Mckinley
republic i'll commemnra.ion of n. ay-
ing of The Fren"h-Amer lean cable.
The ?lesiden:'s reception Dom is
called the Blue Room On :he ma tel
is golden CLOCK given by NAPOLEON
to Lafayette and by him to Washing
ton. Two bronze vases given Wash
ingtlr at The same time stand on
either srre OF this. Two triple geld
plate and aha. given to Ir"sItcnt
Jackson b> .;e1. Patterson, y I'Srl-
adelphia, are in he same room.
Several gifts of elegance also adcrn
the Green Room. The screen was
given to Mrs Grant ny Emperor
Franz-Josef. of Austria. Mrs. Grant
purchased the gilt clock and two gilt
vases in Paris and gave them to the
White House. The lacquer cabinet was
presented to this nation in 1858.
In the Red Room are two vases
given President Pierce by the French
government. \ cabinet of mahogany
and gold, containing seven Japanese
dolls dressed eXquisitely. was given
to Mrs. Roosevelt by the Japanese
minister. Each of these rooms is fin
ished in the colors indicated by its
name.
Upon three or four occasions each
year. the state dining room is the
scene of brilliant dinners to the Dip
lomatic Corps. the Cabinet and the Su-
preme Court. President Taft held a
fourth dinner, one to the Speaker of
the House.
Holds Six Receptions.
Ordinarily, the President holds six
in the East Room each year