White House history

Having passions both for photography and for the history of the USA, I thought I'd blog today about two recent reads which link these themes.  The first is Presidential Picture Stories: behind the cameras at the White House by Dennis Brack and the second is The Hidden White House: Harry Truman and the reconstruction of America's most famous residence by Robert Klara.

Both of these tell fascinating stories.  The first is about the long history of the relationship between the media and the power of the presidency, from the earliest days of the published images of Lincoln to the present day.  There are facts and anecdotes about many of the most important moments of American history: during two world wars, plus Korea and Vietnam, the assassination of JFK and the quick wits of the stills photographer who asked a policeman where the speeding motorcade was taking the mortally wounded President and was able to reach Parkland Hospital, the way in which the press respected FDR's wish not to be depicted as vulnerable as a result of his polio.  There were also occasional sneaky tricks and practical jokes such as the photographer who developed two rolls of precious images and had the shock of finding the film blank - because colleagues had replaced his exposed film rolls with unexposed ones - and the canny photographer who bided his time in photocalls until all the others had used their allocation of film and time before calling out a question or two and snapping the candid shots that others missed.

Truman had a good relationship with the media and Jim Atherton, a United Press photographer, is quoted in the first book as saying "Covering Truman was like covering your best friend's father".   The second of these books tells the story of how the crumbling fabric of the White House was saved from disaster by the Truman administration.  In 1948 Harry Truman, while taking a bath on the White House’s second floor, almost plunged through the ceiling of the Blue Room into a tea party for the Daughters of the American Revolution.  Nobody was aware of how badly the building had deteriorated in the 150 years since its construction and Congress seriously considered recommending its demolition.  Instead, as Klara explains, the interior was gutted and structurally supported with a steel skeleton while excavations below ground level produced a nuclear shelter at the time of the cold war.

A few years ago I was lucky enough to spend a week in Washington and did the unashamedly touristy things - visiting the Washington  Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Library of Congress, the Capitol, the Mall and the Smithsonian, but one of the images I treasure in my memory is that of the White House amid cherry blossom.  Do visit Washington if you can but until you do, I recommend these books as a taster and fitting introductions to the history of a fascinating city.