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It was my good fortune to tour the White House during
my two-week visit to the US in August 2001, just a few days before
the 9/11 suicide bombing of the World Trade Center in New York.
I never dreamed of having had the
opportunity to see one of the major landmarks of America—the White
House—whose historic walls bear witness to the exercise by US
presidents of global power as well as to the plain simple chores of
first ladies in running a home.
It was my son, Les, a naturalized
US citizen residing with his family in Maryland, who had it all
arranged. A day before the visit, he submitted xerox copies of my
diplomatic passport (I was then labor attaché to Libya) and those
of his family to the presidential security, through a Filipino
friend working in the White House kitchen, for clearance.
The White House was the most
frequently visited home in the US. Every year, over a million
visitors from various parts of the world came to view the “grand
national mansion” free of charge. (I am not sure if it is still
open to the public today in view of the 9/11 tragedy).
On that particular day of our
tour, a long line of visitors had already formed before the East
Wing Lobby. We joined the queue after presenting our clearance to
the White House guards. We were allowed to lug a camera but not to
use it during the indoor tour.
The long line was segmented into
groups of about 30 people, each group provided with a tour guide. We
proceeded along the ground floor corridor, up the marble staircase
and through the elegant rooms of the State Floor. In every stop, our
tour guide explained the historic significance of each room.
The stream of visitors followed
the tour route in unbroken succession. We were witnessing a
“museum of American history,” represented by magnificent
portraits of US presidents and first ladies, works of art by famous
artists, antique furniture and memorabilia of “historic
significance.”
The guided tour covered about 30
rooms and sitting halls, including the Library, Diplomatic Reception
Room, State Dining Room, East Sitting Hall, Lincoln Bedroom,
Queen’s Bedroom, the President’s Dining Room, Reception Room,
Cabinet Room, Oval Office, Roosevelt Room and Map Room, all with
exquisite furniture and furnishings.
The Lincoln bedroom, with its
austere furnishings from the Victorian era (1850-70), used to be the
guest room for friends of the President’s family. But it was
allegedly spurned by Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill
during his US visit during the term of President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt.
In most of his US visits,
Churchill was quartered in the Queen’s Bedroom which has a
comfortable bed. But Roosevelt asked him to take the Lincoln Bedroom
so he could say he had slept in Lincoln’s bed. (The Lincoln
Bedroom is “unquestionably the most uncomfortable bed” in the
White House).
Shortly after Churchill retired
for the night, he was allegedly seen by a White House butler
tiptoeing from the Lincoln Bedroom to the Queen’s Bedroom in his
nightshirt carrying his suitcase. He was not ready to sleep in
Lincoln’s bed despite its historic significance.
As visitors went up the State
Floor, they saw the busts of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin
on one side and those of Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson on the
opposite side. The bronze figures of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster
are on either side of the doorway to the Diplomatic Reception Room.
Portraits of first ladies can be
seen on either side of the entrance to the Diplomatic Reception
Room.
“Every president has left a
mark on the White House,” said Hugh Sidey, chair of the White
House Historical Association. “George Washington chose the site,
approved the architectural design and pushed it to completion.”
John Adams was the first resident, followed by other presidents.
The Irish architect, James Hoban,
made the architectural design of the White House, also known as the
“People’s House,” in 1792. In the span of over 200 years,
other noted architects contributed to giving the White House a new
touch.
My historic White House tour was
a most memorable experience. At the end of the route, I spotted in
one corner of the street two life-size cut-out photos of President
George W. Bush and ex-President Bill Clinton. One could pose with
either figure for a fee of four dollars.
I posed with the figure of Bush
and asked Les to shoot. The resulting photo I keep to this day to
entertain myself and some of my friends.
agr0324@yahoo.com
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