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White House Tours canceled effective Saturday, March 9, 2013
We regret to inform you that White House Tours are canceled effective Saturday, March 9, 2013, until further notice. For updates regarding this situation, please contact the White House Visitors Office 24 hour hotline at (202) 456-7041.
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White House Visitor Center Rehabilitation and Closure Information
The White House Visitor Center is closed for rehabilitation. A temporary visitor center is located near the Ellipse Visitor Pavilion, just west of the intersection of 15th and E streets, NW.
1934 - 1938 Tree Lightings
Of the two Fraser firs planted in Lafayette Square, the west tree was selected for the 1934 lighting ceremony. In the background is the statue of Andrew Jackson. National Park Service Historic Photograph Collection/Harpers Ferry Center Lafayette Park In Lafayette Park, north of the White House, two Fraser fir trees were planted, in 1934, on the east and west sides of the Jackson Statue in hopes that they would be used in alternate years. President Franklin D. Roosevelt never missed the ceremony nor the opportunity to deliver a Christmas Eve message heard by radio listeners coast to coast. During one on the lighting ceremonies the President repeated pushed the button only to have the tree remain dark. Newspapers later reported the button pushed by the President actually signaled an electrician (stationed down a manhole under the street) to light the tree. by C. L. Arbelbide |
Did You Know?
On October 4, 1924, First Division Monument was the first memorial built in Washington, D.C., in honor of the valiant efforts of the soldiers who fought in World War I. Later, the World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Desert Storm were added to the memorial.