Over 35,000 people attended the dedication ceremony for the Lincoln Memorial in 1922, ten years after construction began. At the ceremony, President Warren G. Harding, former president and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Howard Taft, and Robert…

First Lady Lady Bird Johnson was a conservationist and lover of nature. She believed that the environment could help shape people's lives by improving their health and attitudes. In 1964, she established the Society for a More Beautiful National…

When President Truman moved in in 1945, the White House was showing its age. Burned by British troops in 1814, renovated in 1902 and 1927, and expanded several times, the piecemeal and constantly incomplete renovations to the White House had left the…

The Executive Stables, which held the horses, carriages, and later automobiles of the President, were built, rebuilt, and relocated several times. The first stables were built in 1800 by the Jefferson administration and sat just off the White House…

This festival celebrating American cultural diversity was held on the days leading up to the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton. It was organized by the Inaugural Committee, with support from the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of…

At the center of Lafayette Park, along the White House’s north side, stands this equestrian statue of President Andrew Jackson. Cast to commemorate Jackson’s victory at the Battle of New Orleans, the bronze statue was sculpted by artist Clark Mills…

Charles Guiteau shot President Garfield on July 2, 1881 at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station on the National Mall. Guiteau shot Garfield because he had been denied a political appointment that he believed he deserved. Garfield eventually…

The 2009 Presidential Inauguration was the first in which the entire length of the Mall was open to spectators. In previous years, parts of the Mall were used as staging areas for the inaugural parade. In this photo you can see that the crowds…

James Monroe was the first president to take the oath of office outdoors after the government moved to Washington. Previous inaugurations were held indoors, which limited the number of people who could attend. The inauguration was originally going to…

The 1949 Inauguration of President Harry S. Truman was the first to be broadcast live on television. This footage from the US Air Force was shot from behind where Truman stood to take the oath of office. As the camera pans, one of the press platforms…