186. [White House]. Original steel bolt measuring 17 in. (432 mm.) long and 3 in. (76 mm.) wide at its thickest point, with the words ”White House 1792-1902” etched onto the bolt itself. Display stand included with color photocopy of the original tag included, on which reads, ”Smithso… Was…” On the verso, it has the list of previous owners, beginning with ”Mrs. Charles Walcott,” and including ”Mrs. Cole Younger,” and ”CJ Younger.” Fine condition.

An original Smithsonian artifact and exceptional piece of American history – a steel bolt that was part of the original White House, removed during Teddy Roosevelt’s 1902 renovation.

Charles Walcott was a famous American paleontologist who served as the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from 1907 until his death, twenty years later. A staunch conservationist, Walcott served as an advisor to Teddy Roosevelt during his presidency, and thus developed a relationship which resulted in Roosevelt giving Walcott this piece of the original White House.

Construction began on the White House in 1792, directed by the Irish-born architect James Hoban. However, it was burned in 1814 during the War of 1812. Hoban was selected to rebuild the Executive Mansion and in 1817 James Monroe moved in. During Monroe’s tenure, the South Portico was constructed, and Andrew Jackson added the North Portico in 1829. Although there were many plans and designs to expand or even construct a new White House, none of these were realized until it was renovated by Theodore Roosevelt in 1902, when this piece was removed, thus setting the age of the piece between 186 and 223 and years old.

Roosevelt’s renovation relocated the president’s offices from the second floor to the new, but temporary, Executive Office Building, which is now known as the West Wing. The world-renowned New York architectural firm, McKim, Meade and White, executed Roosevelt’s renovation. Charles McKim personally oversaw the project, and, in an effort to move away from Victorian architecture towards Federal, stripped the Mansion of the majority of its original floors as well as covered the old walls with new plaster. McKim also removed the original grand stair in Cross Hall – which in the modern era is the north part of the State Dining Room. To keep up with technology, he added bathrooms on the second floor as well as an elevator and electric lights to replace the ancient gas lamps. Relics gathered from the Truman administration’s renovation are relatively common and are likely of materials produced far later than this bolt, which was removed during Teddy Roosevelt’s renovations, forty-eight years earlier. This is the only artifact from Roosevelt’s renovation that we have encountered.
$3,000 - $5,000

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by Profiles in History
June 11, 2015 11:00 AM PDT
26662 Agoura Rd
Calabasas, CA, US 91302

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