135-763: The National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation is a ceremony that takes place at the White House every year shortly before Thanksgiving . The president of the United States is presented with a live domestic turkey by the National Turkey Federation (NTF), usually males of the Broad Breasted White variety. The early years also included a joint presentation with the Poultry and Egg National Board. The ceremony dates back to
270-489: A White House pet . The official presentation of a turkey to the president each year began in 1947 under President Harry S. Truman . The presentation was partially born out of a lobbying campaign: the Truman administration, in an effort to conserve grain for foreign aid campaigns, began promoting " Meatless Tuesdays " and "Poultryless Thursdays" in the autumn of 1947. Not only did American citizens quickly grow frustrated with
405-499: A butter lamb during Holy Week . The "pardoning" of turkey during the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation has been cited as an illustration of carnism . Animal rights scholars cite this as an illustration of dissonance reduction , which is the prominence given to all similar "saved from slaughter" stories, in which the media focus on one animal that evaded slaughter, while ignoring
540-473: A National Wing on the east for a historical art gallery, and a wing on the west for official functions. A plan was devised by Colonel Theodore A. Bingham that reflected the Harrison proposal. These plans were ultimately rejected. In 1902, however, Theodore Roosevelt hired McKim, Mead & White to carry out expansions and renovations in a neoclassical style suited to the building's architecture, removing
675-653: A building which today houses the Oireachtas , the Irish legislature. Constructed between 1792 and 1800, its exterior walls are Aquia Creek sandstone painted white. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he and architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe added low colonnades on each wing to conceal what then were stables and storage. In 1814, during the War of 1812 , the mansion was set ablaze by British forces in
810-520: A canal and swampy lands, which provided conditions ripe for malaria and other unhealthy conditions, was questioned. Brigadier General Nathaniel Michler was tasked with proposing solutions to address these concerns. He proposed abandoning the use of the White House as a residence, and he designed a new estate for the first family at Meridian Hill in Washington, D.C. Congress, however, rejected
945-612: A columnist. In 2018, Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi agents in Istanbul . In October 2023, the Post announced it would cut 240 jobs across the organization by offering voluntary separation packages to employees. In a staff-wide email announcing the job cuts, interim CEO Patty Stonesifer wrote, "Our prior projections for traffic, subscriptions and advertising growth for the past two years — and into 2024 — have been overly optimistic". The Post has lost around 500,000 subscribers since
1080-539: A convoy of British ships led by HMS Fantome sank en route to Halifax off Prospect during a storm on the night of November 24, 1814, even though Fantome had no involvement in that action. After the fire, President James Madison resided in the Octagon House from 1814 to 1815, and then in the Seven Buildings from 1815 to the end of his term. Meanwhile, both Hoban and Latrobe contributed to
1215-517: A copy of the Lansdowne portrait , and in 1939 a Canadian man returned a jewelry box to President Franklin Roosevelt, claiming that his grandfather had taken it from Washington; in the same year, a medicine chest that had belonged to President Madison was returned by the descendants of a Royal Navy officer. Some observers allege that most of the spoils of war taken during the sack were lost when
1350-496: A former Democratic congressman from Ohio. To promote the newspaper, the new owners requested the leader of the United States Marine Band , John Philip Sousa , to compose a march for the newspaper's essay contest awards ceremony. Sousa composed " The Washington Post ". It became the standard music to accompany the two-step, a late 19th-century dance craze, and remains one of Sousa's best-known works. In 1893,
1485-610: A free-for-all in which numerous farmers tried to be the one to supply the annual holiday turkeys to the president. The rivalry escalated in the Roaring Twenties , with a group of women Warren G. Harding supporters from Chicago sending Harding turkeys (including in 1920 when he was still president-elect and at the Panama Canal Zone ; the turkey was delivered by train), while Cuero, Texas also sent Wilson and Harding turkeys. The Cuero turkeys were notable for being
SECTION 10
#17327975280811620-519: A front-page story which advertised the location at which white servicemen were planning to meet to carry out attacks on black Washingtonians. In 1929, financier Eugene Meyer , who had run the War Finance Corp. since World War I , secretly made an offer of $ 5 million for the Post, but he was rebuffed by Ned McLean. On June 1, 1933, Meyer bought the paper at a bankruptcy auction for $ 825,000 three weeks after stepping down as Chairman of
1755-531: A ground-floor double staircase leading to an Ionic colonnaded loggia and the Truman Balcony , built in 1946. The more modern third floor is hidden by a balustraded parapet and plays no part in the composition of the façade. The building was originally variously referred to as the President's Palace , Presidential Mansion , or President's House . The earliest evidence of the public calling it
1890-497: A major role in the resignation of President Richard Nixon , won the newspaper a Pulitzer Prize in 1973. In 1972, the "Book World" section was introduced with Pulitzer Prize-winning critic William McPherson as its first editor. It featured Pulitzer Prize-winning critics such as Jonathan Yardley and Michael Dirda , the latter of whom established his career as a critic at the Post . In 2009, after 37 years, with great reader outcries and protest, The Washington Post Book World as
2025-492: A national audience. As of 2023, the Post has 135,980 print subscribers and 2.5 million digital subscribers, both of which are the third-largest among U.S. newspapers after The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal . The Post was founded in 1877. In its early years, it went through several owners and struggled both financially and editorially. In 1933, financier Eugene Meyer purchased it out of bankruptcy in 1933 and revived its health and reputation; this work
2160-539: A new official residence in Manhattan called Government House . Washington never lived at Government House since the national capital was moved to Philadelphia in 1790, where it remained through 1800. The July 1790 Residence Act designated the capital be permanently located in the new Federal District , and temporarily in Philadelphia for ten years while the permanent capital was built. Philadelphia rented
2295-493: A predilection for overeating, making them prone to health problems associated with obesity such as heart disease, respiratory failure, joint damage and reduced life spans compared to wild or heritage turkeys . For many years, the pardoned turkeys were documented to have very short lives after their pardoning, frequently dying within a year of being pardoned; for comparison, heritage turkey breeds have lifespans on par with those of wild turkeys, at least five years. The lifespans of
2430-429: A pseudonym. His wife Agnes Ernst Meyer was a journalist from the other end of the spectrum politically. The Post ran many of her pieces including tributes to her personal friends John Dewey and Saul Alinsky . In 1946, Meyer was appointed head of World Bank , and he named his son-in-law Phil Graham to succeed him as Post publisher. The post-war years saw the developing friendship of Phil and Kay Graham with
2565-401: A reception area for social events; Jefferson's colonnades connected the new wings. The East Wing alterations were completed in 1946, creating additional office space. By 1948, the residence's load-bearing walls and wood beams were found to be close to failure. Under Harry S. Truman , the interior rooms were completely dismantled and a new internal load-bearing steel frame was constructed inside
2700-459: A reconstruction and to live across the street at Blair House from 1949 to 1951. The work, completed by the firm of Philadelphia contractor John McShain , required the complete dismantling of the interior spaces, construction of a new load-bearing internal steel frame, and the reconstruction of the original rooms within the new structure. The total cost of the renovations was about $ 5.7 million ($ 67 million in 2023). Some modifications to
2835-453: A series of individual stories..." He has been described as a "hands-off owner", holding teleconference calls with executive editor Martin Baron every two weeks. Bezos appointed Fred Ryan (founder and CEO of Politico ) to serve as publisher and chief executive officer. This signaled Bezos' intent to shift the Post to a more digital focus with a national and global readership. In 2015,
SECTION 20
#17327975280812970-491: A set of solar water heating panels that were mounted on the roof of the White House, was removed during Reagan's presidency. Redecorations were made to the private family quarters and maintenance was made to public areas during the Reagan years. The house was accredited as a museum in 1988. In the 1990s, Bill and Hillary Clinton refurbished some rooms with the assistance of Arkansas decorator Kaki Hockersmith, including
3105-540: A standalone insert was discontinued, the last issue being Sunday, February 15, 2009, along with a general reorganization of the paper, such as placing the Sunday editorials on the back page of the main front section rather than the "Outlook" section and distributing some other locally oriented "op-ed" letters and commentaries in other sections. However, book reviews are still published in the Outlook section on Sundays and in
3240-572: A story about his past ties to a phone hacking scandal, have further shaken the newsroom's morale. Lewis continues to grapple with declining revenue and audience on the business front, seeking strategies to regain subscribers lost since the Trump era. Later that month, the paper ran a story allegedly exposing a connection between incoming editor Robert Winnett and John Ford, a man who "admitted to an extensive career using deception and illegal means to obtain confidential information." Winnett withdrew from
3375-808: A theme for each room: the Federal style for the Green Room , French Empire for the Blue Room , American Empire for the Red Room , Louis XVI for the Yellow Oval Room , and Victorian for the president's study, renamed the Treaty Room . Antique furniture was acquired, and decorative fabric and trim based on period documents was produced and installed. The Kennedy restoration resulted in a more authentic White House of grander stature, which recalled
3510-500: A turkey on November 19, 1963, just three days before his assassination . The bird was wearing a sign reading, "Good Eating Mr. President". Kennedy returned the massive 55-pound (25 kg) turkey to the farm, saying "we'll let this one grow." Scattered reports in The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times referred to it as a pardon, but Kennedy did not refer to it as such. Likewise, Richard Nixon also spared some of
3645-535: Is hidden by a balustraded parapet . The three-level southern façade combines Palladian and neoclassical architectural styles. The ground floor is rusticated in the Palladian fashion. The south portico was completed in 1824. At the center of the southern façade is a neoclassical projected bow of three bays. The bow is flanked by five bays, the windows of which, as on the north façade, have alternating segmented and pointed pediments at first-floor level. The bow has
3780-409: Is hidden by a raised carriage ramp and parapet . The central three bays are situated behind a prostyle portico that was added c. 1830 . The windows of the four bays flanking the portico, at first-floor level, have alternating pointed and segmented pediments , while the second-floor pediments are flat. A lunette fanlight and a sculpted floral festoon surmount the entrance. The roofline
3915-521: Is in Washington, D.C., and its suburbs in Maryland and Northern Virginia. The newspaper's 21 current foreign bureaus are in Baghdad , Beijing , Beirut , Berlin , Brussels , Cairo , Dakar , Hong Kong , Islamabad , Istanbul , Jerusalem , London , Mexico City , Moscow , Nairobi , New Delhi , Rio de Janeiro , Rome , Seoul , Tokyo , and Toronto . In November 2009, the newspaper announced
4050-633: Is speculated as the source of inspiration due to its similarity with the South Portico, although this matter is one of great debate. Italian artisans, brought to Washington to help in constructing the U.S. Capitol , carved the decorative stonework on both porticos. Contrary to speculation, the North Portico was not modeled on a similar portico on another Dublin building, the Viceregal Lodge (now Áras an Uachtaráin , residence of
4185-635: The Los Angeles Times , and The Wall Street Journal . The Post has distinguished itself through its political reporting on the workings of the White House, Congress, and other aspects of the U.S. government. It is considered a newspaper of record in the U.S. The Washington Post does not print an edition for distribution away from the East Coast . In 2009, the newspaper ceased publication of its National Weekly Edition due to shrinking circulation. The majority of its newsprint readership
National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation - Misplaced Pages Continue
4320-789: The American Revolution , first seeking work in Philadelphia and later finding success in South Carolina , where he designed the state capitol in Columbia . President Washington visited Charleston, South Carolina , in May 1791 on his Southern Tour, and saw the Charleston County Courthouse then under construction, which had been designed by Hoban. Washington is reputed to have met with Hoban during
4455-656: The Croatian island of Brač , specifically the Pučišća quarry whose stone was used to build the ancient Diocletian's Palace in Split , was used in the building's original construction. However, researchers believe limestone from the island was used in the 1902 renovations and not the original construction. Others suggest the original sandstone simply came from Aquia Creek in Stafford County, Virginia , since importation of
4590-499: The French Revolution for 20 years, and then finally built between 1812 and 1817 based on Salat's pre-1789 design. The conceptual link between the two houses has been criticized because Hoban did not visit France. Supporters of the connection contend that Thomas Jefferson , during his tour of Bordeaux in 1789, viewed Salat's architectural drawings, which were on file at École Spéciale d'Architecture . On his return to
4725-575: The Post for two years before selling it in 1905 to John Roll McLean , owner of the Cincinnati Enquirer . During the Wilson presidency, the Post was credited with the "most famous newspaper typo " in D.C. history according to Reason magazine; the Post intended to report that President Wilson had been "entertaining" his future-wife Mrs. Galt, but instead wrote that he had been "entering" Mrs. Galt. When McLean died in 1916, he put
4860-524: The Post moved from the building it owned at 1150 15th Street to a leased space three blocks away at One Franklin Square on K Street . Since 2014 the Post has launched an online personal finance section, a blog, and a podcast with a retro theme. The Post won the 2020 Webby People's Voice Award for News & Politics in the Social and Web categories. In 2017, the newspaper hired Jamal Khashoggi as
4995-549: The Post with two remaining local competitors, the Washington Star ( Evening Star ) and The Washington Daily News . In 1972, the two competitors merged, forming the Washington Star-News. Following Graham's death in 1963, control of The Washington Post Company passed to his wife, Katharine Graham (1917–2001), who was also Eugene Meyer's daughter. Few women had run prominent national newspapers in
5130-613: The Post 's average printed weekday circulation is 139,232, making it the third largest newspaper in the country by circulation. For many decades, the Post had its main office at 1150 15th Street NW. This real estate remained with Graham Holdings when the newspaper was sold to Jeff Bezos' Nash Holdings in 2013. Graham Holdings sold 1150 15th Street, along with 1515 L Street, 1523 L Street, and land beneath 1100 15th Street, for $ 159 million in November 2013. The Post continued to lease space at 1150 L Street NW. In May 2014, The Post leased
5265-633: The University of Pennsylvania . On Saturday, November 1, 1800, Adams became the first president to occupy the White House. The President's House in Philadelphia was converted into Union Hotel and later used for stores before being demolished in 1832. The President's House was a major feature of Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the newly established federal city of Washington, D.C. After L'Enfant's dismissal in early 1792, Washington and his Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson , who both had personal interests in architecture, agreed that
5400-578: The Watergate scandal and the 1974 resignation of President Richard Nixon . In October 2013, the Graham family sold the newspaper to Nash Holdings , a holding company owned by Jeff Bezos , for $ 250 million. As of 2024, the newspaper had won the Pulitzer Prize 76 times for its work, the second-most of any publication after The New York Times . It is considered a newspaper of record in
5535-537: The burning of Washington , destroying the interior and charring much of the exterior. Reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed Executive Residence in October 1817. Exterior construction continued with the addition of the semicircular South Portico in 1824 and the North Portico in 1829. Because of crowding within the executive mansion itself, President Theodore Roosevelt had all work offices relocated to
National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation - Misplaced Pages Continue
5670-554: The president of Ireland ), for its portico postdates the White House porticos' design. For the North Portico, a variation on the Ionic Order was devised, incorporating a swag of roses between the volutes. This was done to link the new portico with the earlier carved roses above the entrance. By the time of the American Civil War , the White House had become overcrowded. The location of the White House, just north of
5805-410: The presidential pool and spa. One hundred sixty-seven solar photovoltaic grid-tied panels were installed at the same time on the roof of the maintenance facility. The changes were not publicized as a White House spokeswoman said the changes were an internal matter, but the story was covered by industry trade journals. In 2013, President Barack Obama had a set of solar panels installed on the roof of
5940-834: The vice president ), and Blair House , a guest residence. The Executive Residence is made up of six stories: the Ground Floor, State Floor, Second Floor, and Third Floor, and a two-story basement . The property is a National Heritage Site owned by the National Park Service and is part of the President's Park . In 2007, it was ranked second on the American Institute of Architects list of America's Favorite Architecture . Following his April 1789 inauguration, President George Washington occupied two private houses in New York City , which served as
6075-541: The "White House" was recorded in 1811. A myth emerged that during the rebuilding of the structure after the Burning of Washington , white paint was applied to mask the burn damage it had suffered, giving the building its namesake hue. The name "Executive Mansion" was used in official contexts until President Theodore Roosevelt established "The White House" as its formal name in 1901 via Executive Order. The current letterhead wording and arrangement of "The White House" with
6210-568: The (voluntary, but strongly encouraged) restrictions and begin disregarding them in short order, the National Poultry and Egg Board, incensed at the attack on their industry, noted that not only was Thanksgiving on a Thursday, but Christmas and New Year's Day also landed on a Thursday that year. A truce was called in the dispute in early November, before the Thanksgiving holiday, but "Eggless Thursdays" continued to be promoted for
6345-406: The 1940s; these turkeys were usually slaughtered and eaten (with some exceptions) prior to the 1970s, when it became standard practice to spare the turkey. During the presidency of George H. W. Bush , it became a tradition (since carried on by all of Bush's successors) for the president to issue a ceremonial " pardon " to the turkey. It is a tradition that the turkeys be picked from the chairperson of
6480-607: The 2021 turkeys reside at Purdue University , the 2022 turkeys live at North Carolina State University . and the 2023 turkeys are housed at the University of Minnesota . Turkeys pardoned in 2024 will be sent to the Minnesota Agricultural Interpretive Center (Farmamerica) in Waseca, Minnesota . The turkeys are raised in the same fashion as turkeys designated for slaughter and are fed a grain-heavy diet of fortified corn and soybeans to increase
6615-518: The Federal Reserve . He had bid anonymously, and was prepared to go up to $ 2 million, far higher than the other bidders. These included William Randolph Hearst , who had long hoped to shut down the ailing Post to benefit his own Washington newspaper presence. The Post 's health and reputation were restored under Meyer's ownership. In 1946, he was succeeded as publisher by his son-in-law, Philip Graham . Meyer eventually gained
6750-569: The French taste of Madison and Monroe. In the Diplomatic Reception Room , Mrs. Kennedy installed an antique "Vue de l'Amérique Nord" wallpaper which Zuber & Cie had designed in 1834. The wallpaper had hung previously on the walls of another mansion until 1961 when that house was demolished for a grocery store. Just before the demolition, the wallpaper was salvaged and sold to the White House. The first White House guidebook
6885-460: The High Street mansion in Philadelphia from March 1797 to May 1800. Philadelphia began construction of a much grander presidential mansion several blocks away in 1792. It was nearly completed by the time of Adams' 1797 inauguration. However, Adams chose not to occupy it, saying he did not have Congressional authorization to lease the building. It remained vacant until 1800 when it was sold to
SECTION 50
#17327975280817020-663: The Kennedy period were donated to the White House by wealthy philanthropists, including the Crowninshield family , Jane Engelhard , Jayne Wrightsman , and the Oppenheimer family. Stéphane Boudin of the House of Jansen , a Paris interior-design firm that had been recognized worldwide, was employed by Jacqueline Kennedy to assist with the decoration. Different periods of the early republic and world history were selected as
7155-706: The Kennedys, the Bradlees and the rest of the " Georgetown Set", including many Harvard University alumni that would color the Post's political orientation. Kay Graham's most memorable Georgetown soirée guest list included British diplomat and communist spy Donald Maclean . The Post is credited with coining the term " McCarthyism " in a 1950 editorial cartoon by Herbert Block . Depicting buckets of tar, it made fun of Sen. Joseph McCarthy 's "tarring" tactics, i.e., smear campaigns and character assassination against those targeted by his accusations. Sen. McCarthy
7290-740: The NTF's home state, occasionally from the chair's own farm. Turkeys had been donated to the president as gifts from private citizens. Horace Vose, a Rhode Island turkey farmer, presented a dressed turkey to the president each year from 1873 until his death in 1913. In 1913, South Trimble , a Kentucky farmer and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives , presented a turkey to then-president Woodrow Wilson that year, convinced that his red pepper-fed but smaller turkey tasted better than Vose's; no record survives of which turkey Wilson chose. This, along with Vose's death that December, set off
7425-645: The Oval Office moved to its present location: adjacent to the Rose Garden . Decades of poor maintenance, the construction of a fourth-story attic during the Coolidge administration , and the addition of a second-floor balcony over the south portico for Harry S. Truman took a great toll on the brick and sandstone structure built around a timber frame. By 1948, the house was declared to be in imminent danger of collapse, forcing President Truman to commission
7560-705: The Oval Office, the East Room, Blue Room, State Dining Room , Lincoln Bedroom , and Lincoln Sitting Room. During the administration of George W. Bush , First Lady Laura Bush refurbished the Lincoln Bedroom in a style contemporary with the Lincoln era ; the Green Room, Cabinet Room , and theater were also refurbished. The White House became one of the first wheelchair-accessible government buildings in Washington, D.C., when modifications were made during
7695-449: The Roman architect Vitruvius and the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The design of the upper floors also includes elements based on Dublin's Leinster House , which later became the seat of the Irish parliament ( Oireachtas ). The upper windows with alternate triangular and segmented pediments are inspired by the Irish building. Additionally, several Georgian-era Irish country houses have been suggested as sources of inspiration for
7830-490: The Style section the rest of the week, as well as online. In 1975, the pressmen's union went on strike . The Post hired replacement workers to replace the pressmen's union, and other unions returned to work in February 1976. Donald E. Graham , Katharine's son, succeeded her as a publisher in 1979. In 1995, the domain name washingtonpost.com was purchased. That same year, a failed effort to create an online news repository called Digital Ink launched. The following year it
7965-417: The Tiffany screen and all Victorian additions. Charles McKim himself designed and managed the project, which gave more living space to the president's large family by removing a staircase in the West Hall and moving executive office staff from the second floor of the residence into the new West Wing. President William Howard Taft enlisted the help of architect Nathan C. Wyeth to add additional space to
8100-451: The U.S. Post journalists have received 18 Nieman Fellowships and 368 White House News Photographers Association awards. The paper is well known for its political reporting and is one of the few remaining American newspapers to operate foreign bureaus , with international breaking news hubs in London and Seoul . The Washington Post is regarded as one of the leading daily American newspapers along with The New York Times ,
8235-404: The U.S., Jefferson then shared the influence with Washington , Hoban, Monroe, and Benjamin Henry Latrobe . Construction of the White House began at noon on October 13, 1792, with the laying of the cornerstone. The main residence and foundations of the house were built largely by both enslaved and free African-American laborers, and employed Europeans . Much of the other work on the house
SECTION 60
#17327975280818370-431: The United States. In her autobiography, Katharine Graham described her own anxiety and lack of confidence when she stepped into a leadership role. She served as publisher from 1969 to 1979. Graham took The Washington Post Company public on June 15, 1971, in the midst of the Pentagon Papers controversy. A total of 1,294,000 shares were offered to the public at $ 26 per share. By the end of Graham's tenure as CEO in 1991,
8505-414: The Vietnam War in 1971 when it published the Pentagon Papers . In the mid-1970s, some conservatives referred to the Post as " Pravda on the Potomac " because of its perceived left-wing bias in both reporting and editorials. Since then, the appellation has been used by both liberal and conservative critics of the newspaper. In the PBS documentary Buying the War , journalist Bill Moyers said in
8640-417: The War. In 1902, Berryman published another famous cartoon in the Post – Drawing the Line in Mississippi . This cartoon depicts President Theodore Roosevelt showing compassion for a small bear cub and inspired New York store owner Morris Michtom to create the teddy bear. Wilkins acquired Hatton's share of the newspaper in 1894 at Hatton's death. After Wilkins' death in 1903, his sons John and Robert ran
8775-443: The West Wing, which included the addition of the Oval Office . In 1925, Congress enacted legislation allowing the White House to accept gifts of furniture and art for the first time. The West Wing was damaged by fire on Christmas Eve 1929; Herbert Hoover and his aides moved back into it on April 14, 1930. In the 1930s, a second story was added, as well as a larger basement for White House staff, and President Franklin Roosevelt had
8910-425: The White House staff from suggestions by school children from the state where they were raised. The two finalists are then transported to Washington, where they stay at the Willard InterContinental Washington Hotel at National Turkey Federation expense before being pardoned in a ceremony at the White House. Turkey hens are usually marketed at 14 weeks and weigh 15.5 pounds (7.0 kg) when processed. This compares to
9045-405: The White House, making it the first time solar power was used for the president's living quarters. The Washington Post The Washington Post , locally known as The Post and, informally, WaPo or WP , is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. , the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area and has
9180-415: The White House, no substantive architectural changes have been made to the house since the Truman renovation. Since the Kennedy restoration, every presidential family has made some changes to the private quarters of the White House, but the Committee for the Preservation of the White House must approve any modifications to the State Rooms. Charged with maintaining the historical integrity of the White House,
9315-410: The acquisition. The combined newspaper was published from the Globe Building as The Washington Post and Union beginning on April 15, 1878, with a circulation of 13,000. The Post and Union name was used about two weeks until April 29, 1878, returning to the original masthead the following day. In 1889, Hutchins sold the newspaper to Frank Hatton , a former Postmaster General, and Beriah Wilkins ,
9450-426: The appointment of two white men to top editorial positions have sparked internal discontent, particularly given the lack of consideration for the Post's senior female editors. Additionally, Lewis' proposed division for social media and service journalism has met with resistance from staff. Recent reports alleging Lewis' attempts to influence editorial decisions, including pressuring NPR 's media correspondent to drop
9585-424: The birds' size. A flock of between 50 and 80 birds, typically from the farm of the current National Turkey Federation chairperson and hatched in early summer, are selected to be acclimated to handle loud noises, flash photography and large crowds; in late October or early November, the 10 to 20 best-preened and best-behaved of that flock are chosen and eventually narrowed down to two finalists, whose names are chosen by
9720-525: The building and sold at a public auction . All that was saved were bust portraits of John Adams and Martin Van Buren . A proposal was made to build a new residence south of the White House, but it failed to gain support. In the fall of 1882, work was done on the main corridor, including tinting the walls pale olive and adding squares of gold leaf , and decorating the ceiling in gold and silver, with colorful traceries woven to spell "USA." The Red Room
9855-470: The closure of three U.S. regional bureaus in Chicago , Los Angeles and New York City , as part of an increased focus on Washington, D.C. –based political stories and local news. The newspaper has local bureaus in Maryland (Annapolis, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, and Southern Maryland) and Virginia (Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun County, Richmond, and Prince William County). As of March 2023,
9990-516: The college's poultry science program, and the National Turkey Federation wanted to begin a tradition of cooperation between the turkey industry and universities. After four successful years at Virginia Tech, the alma mater of the chairman of the NTF at the time, the federation chose to begin housing the turkeys at universities closer to the turkeys' home towns. The 2020 turkeys were sent to be housed at Iowa State University ,
10125-558: The congressionally authorized committee works with each First Family — usually represented by the first lady, the White House curator , and the chief usher — to implement the family's proposals for altering the house. During the Nixon Administration (1969–1974), First Lady Pat Nixon refurbished the Green Room, Blue Room, and Red Room, working with Clement Conger , the curator appointed by President Richard Nixon . Mrs. Nixon's efforts brought more than 600 artifacts to
10260-556: The design and oversight of the reconstruction, which lasted from 1815 until 1817. The south portico was constructed in 1824 during the James Monroe administration. The north portico was built in 1830. Though Latrobe proposed similar porticos before the fire in 1814, both porticos were built as designed by Hoban. An elliptical portico at Château de Rastignac in La Bachellerie, France, with nearly identical curved stairs,
10395-536: The design for the East and West Colonnades, small wings that helped conceal the domestic operations of laundry, a stable and storage. Today, Jefferson's colonnades link the residence with the East and West Wings. In 1814, during the War of 1812 , the White House was burned by British forces during the Burning of Washington , in retaliation for acts of destruction by American troops in the Canadas ; much of Washington
10530-642: The design of the President's House and the Capitol would be chosen in a design competition . Nine proposals were submitted for the new presidential residence with the award going to Irish-American architect James Hoban . Hoban supervised the construction of both the U.S. Capitol and the White House. Hoban was born in Ireland and trained at the Dublin Society of Arts . He emigrated to the U.S. after
10665-400: The end of 2020 and was set to lose $ 100 million in 2023, according to The New York Times . The layoffs prompted Dan Froomkin of Presswatchers to suggest that the decline in readership could be reversed by focusing on the rise of authoritarianism (in a fashion similar to the role the Post played during the Watergate scandal ) instead of staying strictly neutral, which Froomkin says places
10800-426: The entire company revenue stream. Executive editor Ben Bradlee put the newspaper's reputation and resources behind reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein , who, in a long series of articles, chipped away at the story behind the 1972 burglary of Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate complex in Washington. The Post 's dogged coverage of the story, the outcome of which ultimately played
10935-482: The executive mansion. He lived at the first, the Walter Franklin House , which was owned by Treasury Commissioner Samuel Osgood , at 3 Cherry Street, through late February 1790. The executive mansion moved to the larger quarters at Alexander Macomb House at 39–41 Broadway , where Washington stayed with his wife Martha and a small staff until August 1790. In May 1790, construction began on
11070-442: The finished structure contained only two main floors instead of the planned three, and a less costly brick served as a lining for the stone façades. When construction was finished, the porous sandstone walls were whitewashed with a mixture of lime, rice glue, casein, and lead, giving the house its familiar color and name. The main entrance is located on the north façade under a porte cochere with Ionic columns. The ground floor
11205-530: The first to be sent while still alive; the Wilson administration slaughtered and ate the bird. Calvin Coolidge , alarmed at the number of turkeys being offered to the president at the time, briefly stopped the tradition upon assuming office in 1923 and chose to buy his own turkey; he relented in 1925 and was soon bombarded with an unusual array of animals to eat, including Rebecca , a live raccoon that Coolidge received in 1926 and, unwilling to eat it, designated as
11340-543: The floor plan were made, the largest being the repositioning of the grand staircase to open into the Entrance Hall, rather than the Cross Hall. Central air conditioning was added, as well as two additional sub-basements providing space for workrooms, storage, and a bomb shelter. The Trumans moved back into the White House on March 27, 1952. While the Truman reconstruction preserved the house's structure, much of
11475-537: The house, the largest acquisition by any administration. Her husband created the modern press briefing room over Franklin Roosevelt 's old swimming pool. Nixon also added a single-lane bowling alley to the White House basement. Computers and the first laser printer were added during the Carter administration , and the use of computer technology was expanded during the Reagan administration . A Carter-era innovation,
11610-588: The last laugh over Hearst, who had owned the old Washington Times and the Herald before their 1939 merger that formed the Times-Herald . This was in turn bought by and merged into the Post in 1954. The combined paper was officially named The Washington Post and Times-Herald until 1973, although the Times-Herald portion of the nameplate became less and less prominent over time. The merger left
11745-486: The main residence were paneled in wood from the timbers. Jacqueline Kennedy , wife of President John F. Kennedy (1961–63), directed a very extensive and historic redecoration of the house. She enlisted the help of Henry Francis du Pont of the Winterthur Museum to assist in collecting artifacts for the mansion, many of which had once been housed there. Other antiques, fine paintings, and improvements from
11880-437: The mansion of Robert Morris , a merchant, at 190 High Street, now 524–30 Market Street , as the President's House , which Washington occupied from November 1790 to March 1797. Since the house was too small to accommodate the 30 people who then made up the presidential family, staff, and servants, Washington had it enlarged. President John Adams , who succeeded Washington and served as the nation's second president, occupied
12015-476: The mantel in the State Dining Room. Adams lived in the house only briefly before Thomas Jefferson moved into the "pleasant country residence" in 1801. Despite his complaints that the house was too big ("big enough for two emperors, one pope, and the grand lama in the bargain"), Jefferson considered how the White House might be expanded and improved. With Benjamin Henry Latrobe , he helped lay out
12150-645: The millions that did not. According to Melanie Joy , this dichotomy is characteristic of carnism. Animals at the center of such narratives include Wilbur in Charlotte's Web (1952); the eponymous and fictional star of Babe (1995); Christopher Hogwood in Sy Montgomery 's The Good, Good Pig (2006); the Tamworth Two ; Emily the Cow and Cincinnati Freedom . A 2012 study found that most media reporting on
12285-458: The nation's first president courted the first lady in the mid-18th century. On Saturday, November 1, 1800, John Adams became the first president to take residence in the building. The next day he wrote his wife Abigail: "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this House, and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof." President Franklin D. Roosevelt had Adams's blessing carved into
12420-526: The new President Lyndon B. Johnson , "I don't have much influence with the Post because I frankly don't read it. I view it like the Daily Worker ." Ben Bradlee became the editor-in-chief in 1968, and Kay Graham officially became the publisher in 1969, paving the way for the aggressive reporting of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate scandals . The Post strengthened public opposition to
12555-474: The new interior finishes were generic and of little historic significance. Much of the original plasterwork, some dating back to the 1814–1816 rebuilding, was too damaged to reinstall, as was the original robust Beaux Arts paneling in the East Room. President Truman had the original timber frame sawed into paneling; the walls of the Vermeil Room , Library , China Room , and Map Room on the ground floor of
12690-528: The newly constructed West Wing in 1901. Eight years later, in 1909, President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and created the first Oval Office , which was eventually moved and expanded. In the Executive Residence, the third floor attic was converted to living quarters in 1927 by augmenting the existing hip roof with long shed dormers. A newly constructed East Wing was used as
12825-509: The newspaper in a trust, having little faith that his playboy son Edward "Ned" McLean could manage it as part of his inheritance. Ned went to court and broke the trust, but, under his management, the newspaper slumped toward ruin. He bled the paper for his lavish lifestyle and used it to promote political agendas. During the Red Summer of 1919 the Post supported the white mobs and even ran
12960-555: The newspaper moved to a building at 14th and E streets NW, where it would remain until 1950. This building combined all functions of the newspaper into one headquarters – newsroom, advertising, typesetting, and printing – that ran 24 hours per day. In 1898, during the Spanish–American War , the Post printed Clifford K. Berryman 's classic illustration Remember the Maine , which became the battle-cry for American sailors during
13095-402: The newspaper's coverage during the run-up to the 2008 presidential election , former Post ombudsman Deborah Howell wrote: "The opinion pages have strong conservative voices; the editorial board includes centrists and conservatives; and there were editorials critical of Obama. Yet opinion was still weighted toward Obama." According to a 2009 Oxford University Press book by Richard Davis on
13230-433: The organization would embrace artificial intelligence to improve the paper's financial situation, telling staff it would seek "AI everywhere in our newsroom." In June 2024, Axios reported the Post faced significant internal turmoil and financial challenges. The new CEO, Lewis, has already generated controversy with his leadership style and proposed restructuring plans. The abrupt departure of executive editor Buzbee and
13365-550: The overall floor plan, including the bow-fronted south front and the former niches in the present-day Blue Room . The first official White House guide, published in 1962, suggested a link between Hoban's design for the South Portico and Château de Rastignac , a neoclassical country house in La Bachellerie in the Dordogne region of France. Construction on the French house was initially started before 1789, interrupted by
13500-420: The paper into an undistinguished secondary role in competition with other contemporary media. As part of the shift in tone, in 2023 the paper closed down the "KidsPost" column for children, the "Skywatch" astronomy column, and the "John Kelly's Washington" column about local history and sights, which had been running under different bylines since 1947. In May 2024, CEO and publisher William Lewis announced that
13635-474: The pardon stay in his room at the White House overnight. He then proceeds to call Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, a fictional British Prince and the main love interest of the book, to discuss the turkeys. White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States . Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. , it has served as
13770-643: The pardoned turkeys have steadily improved in recent years, frequently having lifespans of over two years and occasionally reaching three years of age, an improvement attributed to better choices of homes after the pardons; rather than serving solely as tourist attractions, the turkeys are now placed in the care of experts who make conscious efforts to maintain the turkeys' health for as long as possible. A number of U.S. states have similar turkey-pardoning events, including Minnesota . The pardoning ceremonies have also been extended to other holidays; for instance, Erie County, New York 's county executive facetiously pardons
13905-496: The plan. Another option was Metropolis View, which is now the campus of The Catholic University of America . When Chester A. Arthur took office in 1881, he ordered renovations to the White House to take place as soon as the recently widowed Lucretia Garfield moved out. Arthur inspected the work almost nightly and made several suggestions. Louis Comfort Tiffany was asked to send selected designers to assist. Over twenty wagonloads of furniture and household items were removed from
14040-465: The position shortly thereafter. In 1933, financier Eugene Meyer bought the bankrupt Post , and assured the public that neither he nor the newspaper would be beholden to any political party. But as a leading Republican who had been appointed Chairman of the Federal Reserve by Herbert Hoover in 1930, his opposition to Roosevelt 's New Deal colored the paper's editorials and news coverage, including editorializing news stories written by Meyer under
14175-709: The presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt , who used a wheelchair because of his paralytic illness . In the 1990s, Hillary Clinton , at the suggestion of the Visitors Office director, approved the addition of a ramp in the East Wing corridor, affording easier wheelchair access for the public tours and special events that enter through the secure entrance building on the east side. In 2003, the Bush administration reinstalled solar thermal heaters. These units are used to heat water for landscape maintenance personnel and for
14310-477: The president. This prevented them from being sold (as many objects in the executive mansion had been in the past 150 years). When not in use or display at the White House, these items were to be turned over to the Smithsonian Institution for preservation, study, storage, or exhibition. The White House retains the right to have these items returned. Out of respect for the historic character of
14445-580: The residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 when the national capital was moved from Philadelphia . The "White House" is also used as a metonym to refer to the Executive Office of the President of the United States . The residence was designed by Irish -born architect James Hoban in the Neoclassical style. Hoban modeled the building on Leinster House in Dublin ,
14580-527: The rest of the year, meaning that dishes such as pumpkin pie , another Thanksgiving staple, were still on the forbidden foods list. Records on file at the Truman Library show that Truman publicly admitted eating at least some of the turkeys. The Eisenhower Presidential Library says documents in their collection reveal that President Dwight Eisenhower ate the birds presented to him during his two terms. President John F. Kennedy spontaneously spared
14715-417: The stock was worth $ 888 per share, not counting the effect of an intermediate 4:1 stock split. Graham also oversaw the Post company's diversification purchase of the for-profit education and training company Kaplan, Inc. for $ 40 million in 1984. Twenty years later, Kaplan had surpassed the Post newspaper as the company's leading contributor to income, and by 2010 Kaplan accounted for more than 60% of
14850-442: The stone at the time would have proved too costly. The initial construction took place over a period of eight years at a reported cost of $ 232,371.83 (equivalent to $ 4,172,000 in 2023). Although not yet completed, the White House was ready for occupancy circa November 1, 1800. Pierre L'Enfant 's plan for a grand palace was five times larger than the house that was eventually built. Due in part to material and labor shortages,
14985-428: The tom, which takes 18 weeks to reach a market weight of 38 pounds (17 kg). The turkeys for the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation are usually between 17 and 21 week-old toms (males) weighing 45 pounds (20 kg) by the time of their White House visit, compared to the shorter growing period for turkeys destined for market. Broad Breasted White turkeys are bred for large size, are sedentary animals and have
15120-455: The turkey farmers to add to his lacking campaign fund. In the Rick and Morty episode " Rick & Morty's Thanksploitation Spectacular ", Rick turns himself into a turkey in an effort to receive a presidential pardon from the President . In Red, White & Royal Blue Chapter 4, Alex Claremont-Diaz, a fictional First Son of the United States, offers to let the two turkeys being brought for
15255-407: The turkey into military service to spare its life. In real life, both the turkey and the alternate are spared. The animated film Free Birds centers around a turkey who was pardoned, then is recruited to go back in time to the first Thanksgiving to get turkeys off the menu. In David Mamet's play November , an incumbent president losing his bid for reelection uses the yearly tradition to extort
15390-411: The turkey pardon as a permanent part of the presentation beginning his first year in office, 1989. The phrase "presidential pardon" in that ceremony was apparently inserted by a speechwriter; Bush initially was indifferent to the terminology, saying " 'Reprieve', 'keep him going', or 'pardon': it's all the same for the turkey, as long as he doesn't end up on the president's holiday table." For many years
15525-418: The turkey-pardoning ceremony celebrated the poultry industry while marginalizing the link between living animals and meat. In The West Wing episode "Shibboleth," when C.J. learns the alternate turkey is to be slaughtered, she appeals to President Bartlet to save it. He points out that he cannot pardon a turkey, as it had committed no crime and he has no "judicial jurisdiction over birds". So, he drafts
15660-471: The turkeys due to the fact that they violated the estate's policy of maintaining its own historical accuracy (Washington never farmed turkeys). The 2013, 2014 and 2015 turkeys were sent to Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia , the estate of former Virginia governor (and prolific turkey farmer) Westmoreland Davis . Virginia Tech has housed the turkeys from 2016 to 2019; Virginia Tech was chosen because of
15795-412: The turkeys given to him during his time as president. During the Carter administration, First Lady Rosalynn Carter arranged to have the turkeys sent to petting zoos, and no public ceremonies were held. The first president on record issuing a "pardon" to his turkey was Ronald Reagan . Reagan had been sending the turkeys presented to him to farms and zoos since at least 1982, and 1987's turkey, Charlie,
15930-795: The turkeys were sent to Frying Pan Farm Park in Fairfax County, Virginia . From 2005 to 2009, the pardoned turkeys were sent to either the Disneyland Resort in California or the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida , where they served as the honorary grand marshals of Disney's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In 2010, 2011 and 2012, the turkeys were sent to live at Mount Vernon , the estate and home of George Washington ; Mount Vernon stopped displaying and accepting
16065-490: The visit. The following year, Washington summoned the architect to Philadelphia and met with him in June 1792. On July 16, 1792, the president met with the commissioners of the federal city to make his judgment in the architectural competition. His review is recorded as being brief, and he quickly selected Hoban's submission. The Neoclassical design of the White House is based primarily on architectural concepts inherited from
16200-571: The walls. On the exterior, the Truman Balcony was added. Once the structural work was completed, the interior rooms were rebuilt. The present-day White House complex includes the Executive Residence, the West Wing, the East Wing, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building , which previously served the State Department and other departments (it now houses additional offices for the president's staff and
16335-572: The war, while contrary information got lost". On March 23, 2007, Chris Matthews said on his television program, " The Washington Post is not the liberal newspaper it was [...] I have been reading it for years and it is a neocon newspaper". It has regularly published a mixture of op-ed columnists, with some of them left-leaning (including E. J. Dionne , Dana Milbank , Greg Sargent, and Eugene Robinson ), and some of them right-leaning (including George Will , Marc Thiessen , Michael Gerson and Charles Krauthammer ). Responding to criticism of
16470-570: The west tower of One Franklin Square , a high-rise building at 1301 K Street NW in Washington, D.C. Mary Jordan was the founding editor, head of content, and moderator for Washington Post Live , The Post's editorial events business, which organizes political debates, conferences and news events for the media company, including "The 40th Anniversary of Watergate" in June 2012 that featured key Watergate figures including former White House counsel John Dean , Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee , and reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein , which
16605-460: The word "Washington" centered beneath it dates to the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt . Although the structure was not completed until some years after the presidency of George Washington, there is speculation that the name of the traditional residence of the president of the United States may have been derived from Martha Washington 's home, White House Plantation , in Virginia , where
16740-547: The year prior to the Iraq War there were 27 editorials supporting the Bush administration 's desire to invade Iraq. National security correspondent Walter Pincus reported that he had been ordered to cease his reports that were critical of the administration. According to author and journalist Greg Mitchell : "By the Post 's own admission, in the months before the war, it ran more than 140 stories on its front page promoting
16875-460: Was affected by these fires as well. Only the exterior walls remained, and they had to be torn down and mostly reconstructed because of weakening from the fire and subsequent exposure to the elements, except for portions of the south wall. Of the numerous objects taken from the White House when it was sacked by the British, only three have been recovered. White House employees and slaves rescued
17010-895: Was attempting to do for the Senate what the House Un-American Activities Committee had been doing for years—investigating Soviet espionage in America . The HUAC made Richard Nixon nationally known for his role in the Hiss / Chambers case that exposed communist spying in the State Department . The committee had evolved from the McCormack - Dickstein Committee of the 1930s. Phil Graham's friendship with John F. Kennedy remained strong until their deaths in 1963. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover reportedly told
17145-609: Was continued by his successors Katharine and Phil Graham , Meyer's daughter and son-in-law, respectively, who bought out several rival publications. The Post 's 1971 printing of the Pentagon Papers helped spur opposition to the Vietnam War . Reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein led the investigation into the break-in at the Democratic National Committee , which developed into
17280-437: Was done by immigrants, many of whom had not yet obtained citizenship, including the sandstone walls, which were erected by Scottish immigrants , the high-relief rose, and garland decorations above the north entrance and the fish scale pattern beneath the pediments of the window hoods. There are conflicting claims as to where the sandstone used in the construction of the White House originated. Some reports suggest sandstone from
17415-407: Was founded in 1877 by Stilson Hutchins (1838–1912); in 1880, it added a Sunday edition, becoming the city's first newspaper to publish seven days a week. In April 1878, about four months into publication, The Washington Post purchased The Washington Union , a competing newspaper which was founded by John Lynch in late 1877. The Union had only been in operation about six months at the time of
17550-525: Was held at the Watergate hotel. Regular hosts include Frances Stead Sellers . Lois Romano was formerly the editor of Washington Post Live . The Post has its own exclusive Zip Code , 20071. Arc XP is a department of The Washington Post , which provides a publishing system and software for news organizations such as the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times . The newspaper
17685-497: Was likewise headed to a petting zoo . At the time, Reagan was facing questions over the Iran-Contra affair , on whether or not he would consider pardoning Oliver North (who had yet to be tried for his involvement in the affair); Reagan conjured the notion of the turkey pardon as a joke to deflect those questions. Reagan did not make any pardon references in the 1988 presentation, but his successor, George H. W. Bush , instituted
17820-405: Was painted a dull Pomeranian red, and its ceiling was decorated with gold, silver, and copper stars and stripes of red, white, and blue. A fifty-foot jeweled Tiffany glass screen, supported by imitation marble columns, replaced the glass doors that separated the main corridor from the north vestibule. In 1891, First Lady Caroline Harrison proposed major extensions to the White House, including
17955-548: Was produced under the direction of curator Lorraine Waxman Pearce with direct supervision from Mrs. Kennedy. Sales of the guidebook helped finance the restoration. In a televised tour of the house on Valentine's Day in 1962, Kennedy showed her restoration of the White House to the public. Congress enacted legislation in September 1961 declaring the White House a museum. Furniture, fixtures , and decorative arts could now be declared either historic or of artistic interest by
18090-400: Was renamed Graham Holdings shortly after the sale. Nash Holdings, which includes the Post , is operated separately from technology company Amazon , which Bezos founded and where he is as of 2022 executive chairman and the largest single shareholder, with 12.7% of voting rights. Bezos said he has a vision that recreates "the 'daily ritual' of reading the Post as a bundle, not merely
18225-410: Was shut down and the first website was launched in June 1996. In August 2013, Jeff Bezos purchased The Washington Post and other local publications, websites, and real estate for US$ 250 million , transferring ownership to Nash Holdings LLC, Bezos's private investment company. The paper's former parent company, which retained some other assets such as Kaplan and a group of TV stations,
#80919