Made “Fit for Kings”: The 1960s Kennedy Renovation of Blair House, The President’s Guest House
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Botello, John S
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Abstract
This thesis examines the collaborative efforts of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, First Lady Claudia {Lady Bird} Johnson, and Ambassador Robin Chandler Dukes’ transformation of the outdated and stark 1940s interiors of Blair House, The President’s Guest House, into a more updated and hospitable environment on par with the White House interiors. Mrs. Kennedy and her collaborators extended the aesthetic of the 1960s White House to Blair House to create the “same feeling [between] Blair House and the White House,” as the First Lady articulated. Blair House’s improved program of American heritage and diplomacy was established during the Kennedy administration’s rejuvenation of the American arts and refined government protocol. Through Mrs. Kennedy’s efforts in restoring and re-designing both the White House and Blair House, she (and those women who assisted her) crafted a hospitable diplomatic presence they deemed suitable for kings and queens.
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Blair House, Kennedy renovation, Jacqueline Kennedy, White House, Residence, Hospitality