My fall 2010 photo of the White House, with garden tour-goers.
The White House grounds and gardens were open to the public recently, as they are one weekend every spring and fall, but I skipped it this time in favor of a brand new “White House experience” called “The People’s House.” This project of the White House Historical Association, located very close to the White House itself, lets the public into the inner sanctum of the building with very clever interactive and immersive re-creations of rooms and iconic artifacts that tell their stories to visitors. Oh, and it’s free! (Positive reviews here, here and here.)
Like the reviewers, I was impressed at the scope and quality of the exhibits – it’s truly an “experience” – and I highly recommend a visit. (Reserve your free passes here.)
Any of those links will describe “The People’s House” in detail but for GardenRant readers we’re all about gardens, so here ya go.
One long wall told the stories of unheralded White House staffers, each describing their jobs and careers, and one was Dale Haney, long-time groundskeeper and current superintendent. Here’s what he said in his video:
I’m Dale Haney, Superintendent of the White House grounds. I have served in that role since 2008 but began my White House career as a gardener in 1972 during the Nixon presidency. In this role, I work closely with my colleagues on the grounds team and the National Park Service to ensure the health and wellness of all the plants and green spaces of the White House. We keep it maintained according to the Olmsted plan of 1935 instituted by President Franklin Roosevelt. I’d like to invite you to learn more about the individuals since 1800 have contributed to the White House grounds and gardens.
(For the curious, here’s info from the White House Historical Association about the Olmstead [sic] Plan.)
And a long-time electrician is pictured sprawled across the White House lawn with an unknown president’s dogs. Anyone know? (Haney, too, is often photographed with presidential dogs, dogs being more photogenic than most people.)
There’s a mini-library of books about the various elements of the White House, and here’s what the one about the gardens has to say:
In the Oval!
The most popular part of “The People’s House” is reportedly its exact replica of the Oval Office, including the statues of civil rights heroes that President Biden has on display around the room. The docent assured us that replicas will quickly be made of all additions/changes that are made by the next administration in late January.
Are you old enough to know what the heck I’m doing in this photo? If not, here’s the answer.
An (honestly) apolitical new look at the White House gardens originally appeared on GardenRant on November 2, 2024.
The post An (honestly) apolitical new look at the White House gardens appeared first on GardenRant.
