INSIDE BLAIR HOUSE

Principal Suite Bedroom
This is the main Blair House bedroom and is used exclusively for world leaders, presidents-elect, and the spouses of former presidents during state funerals.
Washington, DC : 1:52 min
Principal Suite Sitting Room
This room adjoins the Principal Suite Bedroom.
Washington, DC : 1:43 min
Drawing Room
This is the first drawing room visitors encounter when they enter Blair House. Former presidents Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower may have patched up their differences here after President John F. Kennedy's funeral.
Washington, DC : 00:39 min
Library
The library is used by presidents-elect to practice their inaugural speeches. The library is part of the Principal Suite and is also used for dining and meetings. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip had breakfast in this room during their visit. The library features books on American history and literature.
Washington, DC : 1:15 min
Lincoln Room
Francis Preston Blair, acting on behalf of President Abraham Lincoln, offered command of the federal forces to Col. Robert E. Lee in this room at the outbreak of the Civil War. Lee declined the offer.
Washington, DC : 2:05 min
Truman Study
President Harry Truman used this Lee House front parlor as his office during the lengthy White House renovation.
Washington, DC : 00:47 min
Eisenhower Room
Mamie Eisenhower dedicated this room in 1971 to her late husband. The room features a lake sunset and rural scene painted by former President Eisenhower. Today it is a sitting room and part of the Principal Suite.
Washington, DC : 3:48 min
Lee Dining Room or Truman Cabinet Room
President Harry Truman held some cabinet meetings here during his occupancy of Blair House. The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan were formulated here, and the decision to commit American troops to Korea was made here. It is believed that President Truman was in this room when he decided to fire Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
Washington, DC : 1:17 min
Jackson Place Dining & Sitting rooms
This is one of four dining rooms in the Blair House complex.
Washington, DC : 1:46 min
Jackson Place Meeting Room
Larger meetings are held in this room. It was here that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip met privately with State Department and Blair House staff to thank them for their hospitality.
Washington, DC : 1:54 min
Dillon Room
Visitors are officially welcomed in this room. The vice-president and secretary of state meet with foreign leaders here, and official photographs are taken in this room.
Washington, DC : 1:49 min
Blair House Dining Room
President Harry Truman used this dining room during the 1948-1952 White House restoration, and held dinners here to honor Dwight D. Eisenhower, Winston Churchill and Princess Elizabeth.
Washington, DC : 2:34 min

BLAIR HOUSE INTERVIEWS

Ambassador Nancy Brinker
Chief of Protocol Ambassador Nancy Brinker explains how invitations to Blair House are issued, and she discusses the dual roles of diplomacy and hospitality, the maintainence of the historic structure, and key moments in Blair House history.
Washington, DC : 25 min
Raymond P. Martinez
Deputy Chief of Protocol Raymond P. Martinez talks about the role of protocol in foreign policy and the use of Blair House as a diplomatic tool. He also recounts a private audience with Queen Elizabeth during her stay at Blair House.
Washington, DC : 39 min
Candace Shireman
Blair House Curator Candace Shireman details Francis Preston Blair's political influence from the Andrew Jackson years through the administration of Abraham Lincoln, the Blair family's prominence in official Washington, the need to acquire a presidential guest house during World War II, and President Harry Truman's occupancy of Blair House.
Washington, DC 1: 13 min
Ambassador Selwa Roosevelt
Selwa "Lucky" Roosevelt, the Reagan era Chief of Protocol, discusses the extensive 1980s restoration of Blair House, the evolution of the Blair House Restoration Fund, and the philosophy behind creating a guest house for world leaders.
Washington, DC : 56 min
Jon Meacham
Jon Meacham, author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, describes the political relationship between Francis Preston Blair and President Andrew Jackson.
Washington, DC : 33 min
Laura Blair Marvel (Online Exclusive)
Laura Blair Marvel is the last living member of the Blair family to have lived in the house. She recalls how, as a very young girl, she came to live at Blair House, what the household was like under her uncle, Gist Blair, and visits to the house by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Washington, DC 1: 14 min
Ian Knox (Online Exclusive)
Blair House Executive Chef Ian Knox discusses how menus are determined for visiting officials, his duties at the house, and how he came to be the Blair House chef.
Washington, DC : 29 min
The house at 1651 Pennsylvania Avenue has been a neighbor of the White House since 1824 -- and at the center of Washington's political life for just as long.

Francis Preston Blair, a member of President Andrew Jackson's "Kitchen Cabinet," moved in during Jackson's second term. Blair continued to be an insider in the administrations of Martin van Buren and Abraham Lincoln.

The house stayed in the Blair family until 1942 when wartime demands upon the White House led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to seek housing for visiting foreign dignitaries. The State Department subsequently purchased Blair House.

But this role was interrupted from 1948 to 1952 when President Harry Truman moved in along with his family while the White House was being renovated.

Today, Blair House is the president's official guest house, hosting world leaders meeting with the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

It also serves as a home for presidents-elect in the days before the inauguration as well as a respite for former first families during state funerals.

Resources

  • Francis Preston Blair by Elbert B. Smith
  • A Child in Blair House by Laura Blair Marvel
  • Truman by David McCullough
  • American Gunfight: The Plot to Kill Harry Truman--and the Shoot-out that Stopped It by Stephen Hunter and John Bainbridge Jr.
  • Harry S. Truman by Margaret Truman
  • Inside Blair House: An Intimate Look at Life Behind the Door of the President's Guest House by Mary Edith Wilroy and Lucie Prinz
  • Official Blair House Website
  • C-SPAN White House