Wanderlust World Wanderlust World A visit to the White House offers visitors a glimpse into the public lives of recent and past presidents and their first ladies. Tours of the state rooms---the East, Red, Blue and Green rooms---are famous for their furnishings, antiques and presidential portraits. According to the National Park Service, tours are limited to the first floor, as the second and third floors are kept from public view for the privacy and administrative efforts of White House occupants and staff.
The East Room is the largest room in the White House and the location of many important functions and events. It primarily serves the as the White House's reception and entertainment room for dances, concerts, award presentations, weddings, bill-signing ceremonies and press conferences. According to the White House Museum, the East Room was not complete in 1800 when the White House first opened its doors, but remained in progress until 1826. Stevie Wonder, Kenny Chesney and Herby Hancock are among the many who have entertained in the East Room.
Serving as one of the White House's state reception rooms, the Red Room is known for its elegance, with American and French Empire furniture and decorations dating as far back as 1810. The room is adorned with finished and ornamental woods displaying Egyptian motifs with designs depicting Lion's heads, dolphins, acanthus leaves and sphinxes. Recently, presidents have used the Red Room for small dinner parties, but it has generally functioned as a sitting or parlor room.
The Green Room has served many functions since its inception, often varying depending on a president's interests. It has been used as card room, a lodging room, a sitting room as well as a dining room. The style of the room---like its function---has changed over the years to suit the presidents' tastes. Theodore Roosevelt furnished the room with reproductions of 19th century American furniture. In 1971, the room was completely refurbished with several decorative aspects taken from a 19th-century periodical.
At the center of the White House's State Floor, the Blue Room serves as the traditional location for a president to receive guests. The Committee for the Preservation of the White House initiated a refurbishing and renovation of the Blue Room that was completed in 1995. The Blue Room is perhaps best known for its oval shape and the views it affords of the White House's South Lawn.