Complete historical detail. I cant begin to tell you how much better looking that is than just a month ago. It would not be the same without his partner in the white house as he was father of the country, martha washington. To her left is William Mckinley. I will leave it to our guest speaker, bill allman, to tell us why William Mckinley is in the east room. On the far left, he needs no introduction, t. R. Teddy roosevelt. These are touches that anyone will see, the business groups that use it, the productions we do, the brides that are married here, but one other musthave was visual acuity. President nixon was a master communicator. He used television from the oval office on 37 occasions. He is known for his silent majority speech, for his resignation speech, for having moved history with words. For those of us who were here for the 50th anniversary will realize that when we showed the tape of the walking on the moon, we showed it on one of the most extraordinarily improvised set of screens. What we used the up those screens were sandbags. We have come a long way, an upgrade. Our brandnew screens are from the draper company. They are 16 feet long, nine, 9 feet wide. They each weigh 700 pounds and luckily, they are automatic. They are so unique and topoftheline, that before they could be used, the Fire Department had to certify that they could be supported in place because of the great weight born upon them. As a result of these screens, the experiences that we have here, whether private business organizations or presentations on nixons legacy, the epa, signing the clean water act, signing the title ix, over the age of 1971 in high school, his trips to china, it will all be shown on these screens as we will demonstrate. We have in this room two new projectors in 4k hd, 2100,000 lumens each. I dont like to brag but each of these projectors cost 56,000 each. Our first use is to demonstrate the new logo of the nixon library. The signature logo, designed to represent president nixons unique achievement as the grand strategist. 30 years ago, we had an original seal. We have kept n which remains the most important competition there can possibly be. This new logo is now reflected all across our organization on every bit of furniture. [applause] i just did the third handoff of a microphone as we upgrade. Every element of this room replicates exactly the elements used in the white house east room. Our new logo will be on every podium exactly as they are in the president s use. They paid for everything in this room we have seen tonight. [applause] and on behalf of [applause] on behalf of dr. Cavanaugh and every member of the board i want to say thank you and tell the story that, on the first day i returned as the director of the library, jim byron said come meet charlie for lunch and we did. I told charlie about our need in this room and within one minute he said he was going to go limb, he had not confirmed it with linda yet [laughter] i would like to welcome charlie zhang, as well as dr. Cavanaugh. [applause] let us take one picture of the four of us. Thank you. Thank you again. [applause] we are in for a lot of fun tonight but we always begin the same way. We want to celebrate this country by standing for the presentation of the colors and the singing of our national anthem. Left face. At the ready. 1,2,3 present. [applause] forward march. [applause] we have a lot of treats in store. Please be seated. I want to introduce jims old friend, and my new friend, bill allman. Afterame curator in 2002 serving as assistant since 1976. The office of the curator is charged with the preservation and study of the clutch and art, furniture, and decorative objects in the public and private rooms of the white house. Varietymaintains a wide of Historical Records about the building. Ofis a native resident bethesda, maryland. He has a ba in history from maryland with a museum concentration from washington university. The music that will follow will be from oc music and art but we begin with the history of the white house from my friend, bill allman. [applause] i have to tell you that we were in here this afternoon consulting on the new installation of all of this wonderful stuff and they put the podium here and i have been used to the fact you have a Center Podium and they put a screen behind you. Those people cannot see that side, and these people cannot see the side, and when i noticed there were two slots in the person,the installing from your staff said i did it right and somebody noticed [laughter] talk,uld see, and i can and everybody will be happy. It is a pleasure to be here this afternoon. Lets say i have to learn how to do this. Maybe it is working . There we go. The east room east. [laughter] here. Sting a shadow that may be because of cspan not your regular installation. This is a picture that was taken in 1972. This is an era picture of the east room which is the reason this room exists today. To help pursue the mission of the Nixon Foundation and the nixon library. What i am going to do is tell you about the history of the east room over time. Winter ofith the 1801. John and Abigail Adams moved in in november. They were going to serve only four months before Thomas Jefferson would assume presidency. This room was unfinished and abigail said i am not hanging my laundry for the public to see and it is cold out there. I dont want frozen laundry. Lets put it in the east room. This drawing was done for the National Geographic publication back in the Kennedy Administration and it shows Abigail Adams supervising the hanging of the laundry. Room remained unfinished until 1814 when the british set fire to the white house and the war of 1812. Misses felt the jame james monroe to rebuild the room money until out of the jackson administration. The east rooms history for the first 29 years was empty, full of laundry, destroyed by fire, empty for some more decades. Maybe . There we go. This picture shows a print of the room in the 1850s but what it shows is the furnishings that had survived from those other administrations. The three tables down the middle of the room were made for Andrew Jackson in 1829. They still exist. You see one here there are two that flank the lincoln bedroom and the others on the ground floor as part of the tour route. Room, this is the earliest known photograph of the room taken around 1867 and it shows seat furniture around the room. You can see chairs around the edges of which we owned four. Unlike the tables that have been there since 1829 continuously until now, the chairs were used in the east room from 1817 until 1874. In 1882, they were sold at the Chester Arthur garage sale. [laughter] in the 19th century, it was perfectly legal when you came in as president they would say here is some money and just get rid of the stuff you dont like. Make some more money to buy what you need. Throughout the 19th century you had entire administrations the taste is exhibited disappear. We now have four chairs which have come back since mrs. Kennedys the time one of which we just acquired four months ago. They were made in georgetown by william king who was a local cabinetmaker. Here is a picture of the room in 1858 with a reception being held by mr. Buchanan. He is in the black suit bent over slightly at the lefthand side shaking hands. This is how the east room would have been used most of the time for big receptions with lots of people being entertained. You see on the righthand side of the picture above the door there is a white marble bust. That is the marble bust you see on this other screen well, beside it in the picture. There were three marble busts purchased by james monroe in 1817 and they represented Christopher Columbus for discovering america. Regardless of what the native americans thought. And theyshington represented washington, the District Of Columbia as Christopher Columbus in the United States of america, and if vespucchi. They had elements of the city in the postwhite house. By the late 19th century, inventories were taken only occasionally at the end of administration so the next people could no what they would find. This marble bust, which was done acky, was listed as unknown roman gentlemen. [laughter] it had lost its George Washington association. Not the most obvious washington, i guess. An 1862 engraving of a reception in the same east room. The artist understood how the chandeliers and draperies looked but he built a room big enough to hold 10,000 people. [laughter] look at them. There are thousands of them under here. Newspaper engravings were the way you understood places prior to photography and he missed the boat on this one. [laughter] in 1884, an interesting event that took place was president Chester Arthur he is holding the piece of paper to the right of the desk. Orleansd the new worlds industrial and cotton exposition by standing in the east room with people that were there to enjoy the event and pushing a telegraph key that would send a message to new orleans think the president officially opened the event. It was these kinds of things that took place in the room. Not so much what would happen in the 20th century. It continues to be that but with a rod or variety of things. Room would way the have looked late in the 19th century. What you see is architecture, columns that have no structural purpose they are just pretty underneath crossbeams that have no structural purpose. In 1874one for for president grants daughter. They redid the mental pieces and all of the furnishings mantle pieces and all of the furnishings. Not every parlor was open to the public because the family lived more in the red and blue room. There were fewer rooms on the second floor because the president s offices occupied one third of the second floor. There was no west wing until 1902. Likeimes east room looked what you see on the left. It was what some of the press people called the style of the east room as steamboat gothic. [laughter] like a Mississippi River steamboat or a hotel lobby with circular sofas and potted palms. The chandeliers date from the Grant Administration and the furniture dates from arthurs continuation of what president garfield started in 1881. One of the few pieces surviving is this sofa. This ebony sofa given back to the white house in 1962. The things that got away in the sales often come back to our office with stories about these came from the white house and we can prove it because the photographs back it up. When they say this was Thomas Jeffersons table but remember there was a fire in 1814 and they saved no furniture. It really cannot be and it looks like it was made in 1930. [laughter] one of the events that happens in the east room are state funerals. Seven of the eight president s who died in office have laid in the east room with the only exception being president garfield. When he was assassinated which is an unexpected way to go layingroom was torn up new floor. Is one you see on the left the casket of president mckinley. I have been asked to explain why William Mckinleys portrait hangs in the east room. It is a nice visual comparison with Teddy Roosevelt. Nd theecause the book e same ends of what has history. You would see potted palms and victorian furniture and theater roosevelt coming in to office in 1901 and in 1902 directing a neoclassical interior was something he needed to for visiting dignitaries to understand we were not steamboat gothic. [laughter] we have a sense of style and taste even i if it has nothing to do with american taste. On the righthand side, you see one of the last event president roosevelt staged and that was one reason he did the 1902 renovation. That is the east room set up for prince henry of prussia. He was the brother of the kaiser andy kim to take a new imperial yacht. This was a stag dinner where no lady was invited. You can see how victorian and exotic it looked. They could not fit it in the state dining room so they had in the east room. When the food came up and went the length of the house and got served to the guest it was kind of cold. One of the things he had done as part of the renovation was in large the state dining room so there could be better meals and modernize the east room. Rooseveltsater portrait. The story said that Teddy Roosevelt was coming down the stairs one day when the sergeant was at the bottom and he said mr. President , when will you let me paint your portrait . I have been hired to do this and you never sit still. He put his hand on the post and said, paid me now. [laughter] post shows up on no staircase so the concept was right, the inspiration was right, but the artist did not actually paint what he found. Portrait of the best in the white house collection. Theodore roosevelt and his wife hired an architect to do a renovation of the public rooms which included enlarging the state dining room, building the west wing so the family would not have to show the second floor with the president s office as. You wouldve people coming up in the water thermoses misses roosevelt bedroom. They had to double up with all the children. The victorian interiors and introduce something more neoclassical. This was what the east room came out. 1904 ofa picture around what you see today. The draperies were read and not gold like today red and not gold like today. The ceiling was simplified later on. Roomore roosevelt used the for two important things. One, the introduced events called musicals and tomorrow night would have been the 100 something anniversary of those. They were held on four consecutive fridays in january. January was the social season. Before the weather got bad and you did not have air conditioning. There would have been a musical where they would have invited maybe 30 or 40 people for dinner and listen to music. They had to have been standing up because they cannot put that many chairs in there. He also enjoyed using the east room as a gymnasium. In 1904he things he had was regular sessions with two japanese jiujitsu wrestlers. [laughter] they would come three times a week and theater roosevelt said, he was not of an age or build to be twirled and batted down without damage. About a month later he said i am probably through with it. After an eight hour gravel with senators grapple with senators and congressmen i feel like a stewed i will but have owl. It was taking its toll on his body. Let me go back for just a second. You can see the chandelier there. They were provided by edward dwell who was a new york they assembled them out of parks. The glass came from the czech republic. Group ofmidrange hooks. The chandeliers are actually originally taller than they are now. Camewere extra long and closer to the floor than they do now. You can also see in the room the wonderful architecture that was based on a shuttle outside paris. Chateau outside paris. Stopsere supposed to be a fables but they are not. The chandelier has been reduced in the stem. Light standards are at the ends of the room. They were also provided by caldwell with fruit ornaments hanging on the arms. Of these were the first not the absolute first but the first installation where everything was electrified. In 1891, they instilled electricity in the white house but kept the gas fixtures and added electric wiring to the gas units. Notbenjamin harrison would touch the switches. Somebody had to go around and turn the lights on and offer them because they were scared the electricity would zap them. [laughter] there is very little furniture. The room was not like the 19th century room with huge amounts of circular sofas. It was designed with a series of banquettes around the edges of the room. There was a spectacular piano provided in 1903 by steinway and company. It was a 100,000 piano created by the company. And immigrated from hungary taken a large portion of the american piano manufacturing industry. It had beautiful paint inside painted by thomas dewing. The nineing tempted by greek muses. To date in there from 1903 offered then steinway number 300,000 which is the piano you see in this very early color photograph in 1938. The pianos were kept in the corner. You only roll them out when you needed them. You still had lots of big events in the room but you could also see there is martha washington. She and George Washington did room unti that until 1884. This clothing was from the modeled from an actual model. This is the most important object as it was hanging in the wall when the atoms moved in adams moved in. Art. Is the longest object. President truman was told you cannot live in the white house because it will fall down. They did engineering studies he moved across the street to blair house in the Army Department contracted out to various combat as. Companies. If you go up one floor, that is the east room. Everything is gone. Nothing dates back to the original dates except they were windows, shutters, plaster plaster. For new plaster. They provided places for rage, andriy, things that laundry. Our own interior rooms are not strictly original. This is the east room. It is a net and era picture. They showed the 19 38 steinway piano a little better and you can see detail on the case. It was specially designed with six images to represent American Music and dance. It has eagles as the legs. This is the piano that continues to be used all of the time. This asne band plays part of ensembles. When a high end classical pianist they normally bring their own. The actions are different between one piano and another. This is the piano that was made rather famous by president nixon. On the 70th Birthday Party for Duke Ellington, the great jazz composer who was a native washingtonian. There is Duke Ellington playing is nixon there playing on the piano in honor of Duke Ellington. It was also used by president nixon when he sat down at the keyboard and played along with pearl bailey who was a famous africanamerican jazz singer who was also starring on broadway in a remake of hello dolly. What else is the east room used for . Occasionally it is used f