The Green Room is one of three state parlors on the first floor of the White House, the home of the president of the United States. It is used for small receptions and teas. During a state dinner, guests are served cocktails in the three state parlors before the president, first lady, and a visiting head of state descend the Grand Staircase for dinner. The room is traditionally decorated in shades of green. The room is approximately . It has six doors, which open into the Cross Hall, East Room, South Portico, and Blue Room.
Little is known about the room's original decor, except that it was likely in the fashionable French Empire style of the day, a tradition that continued until a group of Colonial Revival and Federal-style furniture and art experts appointed by then President Coolidge sought to restore the room according to the period in which it was built, rather than a passing style of a later time. All subsequent work on the room followed Coolidge's lead, First Lady Jackie Kennedy most prominently. In 1961, she formed the White House Historical Association "to help the White House collect and exhibit the very best artifacts of American history and culture." The same year, "Congress enacted Public Law 87-286 declaring that the furnishings of the White House were the inalienable property of the White House, legislating the White House’s status as a museum and extending legal protection to donated period furnishings and all White House objects." An endowment for new acquisitions and the renovation of state rooms was created in 1979, with the help of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.
Upon his death, February 20th 1862, Abraham Lincoln's son Willie laid in state in the Green Room. (With Malice Towards None by Stephen B. Oats)
Early decor
Descriptions of the Green Room's furnishings before the 1814 fire are limited. Following the 1816 rebuilding, inventories suggest the room initially contained French Empire items bought by President James Madison. Throughout most of the 19th century, the room was decorated in a series of revival styles.
1902 Roosevelt renovation
In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt selected the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White to make extensive structural changes to the White House and redecorate most of its rooms. For the Green Room, the firm decided to mimic an 1820s-style parlor or drawing room in the French Empire style. An 1817 fireplace mantel was removed from the State Dining Room and used in the Green Room, displacing its original mantel. The door moldings, which dated from the James Monroe administration, were retained.
1926 Coolidge restoration
In 1924, First Lady Grace Coolidge undertook a restoration of the White House. Coolidge appointed a group of wealthy patrons of the arts, many of whom were knowledgeable in Colonial and Early American furniture and art, to locate historic furnishings and raise money for the work. A split emerged in the committee between those who wished to implement a Colonial Revival style room and those who wished to preserve the 1902 Beaux-Arts decor. The dispute became public, and President Calvin Coolidge ordered the restoration stopped. Work resumed with a different committee in 1926, and the room redecorated in Colonial Revival and Federal furniture.
Coolidge replaced the heavily patterned floral wall covering with a simple green silk velvet. The Renaissance Revival-style mantel (likely installed in 1852) was replaced by a French Empire mantel purchased by President Monroe in 1819. Although the some period antiques were found and placed in the room, most of the furniture were reproductions. A suite of reproduction French Directoire upholstered chairs and white-painted caned reproduction English Regency furniture replaced a suite of overstuffed Turkish style sofas and chairs.
Over the next 37 years, subsequent presidents mostly maintained the Green Room as Coolidge left it, with only minor alterations. One significant change was made after the White House was gutted and renovated under President Harry S. Truman in 1952. When the Green Room was decorated after the renovation, the walls were covered in a green silk damask in the style of Robert Adam (manufactured by American fabrics firm Scalamandré). The window treatments and drapes used the same fabric, with the window treatments covering the window moldings.
