Truman Balcony
The Truman Balcony is the second-floor
Controversy over construction plans
Truman's plans to build a balcony off the Yellow Oval Room were controversial.
Truman argued that the addition of a balcony would provide shade for the first floor
Contemporary political cartoonists satirized the President's balcony project, suggesting that it might even cost him the 1948 presidential election.[4][5]
Construction and subsequent history
Plans for the balcony were approved by architect William Adams Delano.[1] No request was made to Congress for the $16,050.74 (equivalent to $203,546.5 in 2023) cost of constructing the balcony, as Truman had saved a sufficient sum from his household account.[6] Once the balcony was completed, several of those who had opposed the project wrote to the President acknowledging that the balcony had in fact improved the south face of the Residence.[7]
In a September 2012 interview in Vanity Fair, President Barack Obama listed the balcony as his and his wife Michelle Obama's favorite spot in the White House.[8]
References
- ^ a b c "The Truman Balcony: Background Information". Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8262-1066-1.
- ^ Truman, Harry (November 1947). "The Truman Balcony Letters: President Truman's response to a letter from Gilmore Clarke, Chairman of the Commission of Fine Arts, November 1947". Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- ^ "Truman's Balcony -- Cartoon 3". Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- ^ "Truman's Balcony -- Cartoon 4". Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- ^ "Truman Balcony: Background Information (continued)". Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- ^ King, Deloevare (1948-04-29). "Truman's Balcony -- Letter 4". Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- ^ Vanity Fair interview, September 2012 Archived 2013-08-14 at the Wayback Machine
Further reading
- Conflict and Crisis: The Presidency of Harry S. Truman, 1945-1948, By Robert J. Donovan, University of Missouri Press, 1996.
- The President's House: A History, Vol. II, by William Seale, The White House Historical Association, Washington, D.C., 1986.
- The White House and Its Thirty-Four Families, by Amy La Follette Jensen, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1965.