The Hidden White House
Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America's Most Famous Residence
Book - 2013
"In 1948, Harry Truman, President of the United States, almost fell through the ceiling of the Blue Room in a bathtub into a meeting of the Daughters of the American Revolution. A team of the nation's top architects was hastily assembled to inspect the White House, and upon seeing the state the old mansion was in, insisted the First Family be evicted immediately. What followed was the biggest home-improvement job the nation had ever seen"-- Provided by publisher.
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Publisher:
New York : Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2013.
Edition:
First edition.
ISBN:
9781250000279
1250000270
9781250022936
1250000270
9781250022936
Characteristics:
viii, 371 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
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Add a CommentNon-fiction: not what you might expect, based on the title alone. I found this account of the White House renovation undertaken during the Truman administration fascinating. The politics, the Cold War, the history of loss of priceless WH furnishings in previous renovations....and history repeats itself when less than 10 of the >300 rooms are restored to their original condition with carefully stored material, due to time constraints. Villains and heroes abound. Anyone can enjoy this history, but engineers, architects and designers will be in 7th heaven (or hell, given loss of original materials) reading this book.