President and Mrs.
John Quincy Adams began the tradition of eating in this dining room in 1825. This
room has been the source of many family meals, and possibly food fights from
the presidential families. (I’m thinking the TR family since he was so boisterous).
President and Mrs. Herbert Hoover called it the ‘Breakfast room’ because they
ate dinners in the State Dining Room.
In 1962, First
Lady Jacqueline Kennedy created a new family dining room on the second floor in
the private quarters. The present design of it was reconstructed during the Truman’s
administration.
The first photograph was taken in 1889, and now you can see the
changes in the Family Dining Room. The walls, fixtures, etc. are different.
Some highlights of the room’s history:
The Grants hosted “family dinners” in this room usually with a
dozen or so guests personally known by the president and first lady. The walls
of the room at that time were finished with wallpaper that resembled oak
paneling that matched the oak furniture in the State Dining Room. It was the
room that the Grant family dined in every day.
Different
administrations brought renovations and furnishings to the Family Dining
Room. In 2015, the White House
Historical Association refurbished the room to showcase modern art and
design. I believe that it’s now open to
public tours.
Many thanks to the White House Historical Society.
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/glimpses-of-the-old-family-dining-room
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