Melania’s tennis pavilion and other White House makeovers
- Published
The White House tennis pavilion
First Lady Melania Trump's office has announced the finalisation of the White House Tennis Pavilion, external, which has been in the works since October 2019. The project involved revamping an existing tennis court and children's garden.
Earlier this year, as coronavirus began to spread in the US, Mrs Trump was criticised for posting photos of herself reviewing the blueprints for the pavilion. She tweeted, external urging "everyone who chooses to be negative & question my work at the @WhiteHouse to take time and contribute something good & productive in their own communities".
The White House has had a tennis court since the days of Teddy Roosevelt. President Calvin Coolidge's son died of blood poisoning after developing a blister while playing a game on the court in 1924. Here's George HW Bush working on his forehand with South Korea's President Roh Tae Woo in 1991.
Many presidents and first ladies have left their personal touches on the White House, some more indelible than others. The world famous Rose Garden was established by Ellen Wilson, the first wife of President Woodrow Wilson.
The White House children's garden spruced up by Mrs Trump was a gift in 1968 from President Lyndon Baines Johnson and his wife Lady Bird.
Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of President John F Kennedy, also created her own garden - which was named after her - on the South Lawn.
And Michelle Obama created the vegetable garden as part of her healthy eating drive.
Another Teddy Roosevelt innovation was the White House Family Theater where first families and their guests hold movie nights. Here are the Obamas hosting a Super Bowl watch party in 2009.
The putting green was installed in 1954 by Dwight Eisenhower, an avid golfer.
As a birthday present for Harry Truman, a bowling alley was built in 1947 where the Situation Room is now situated near the West Wing.
In 1969, Richard Nixon had a new one-lane alley built beneath the driveway leading to the White House's North Portico.
President Franklin D Roosevelt had an indoor pool built, where he underwent physical therapy after a bout of polio as a young man put him in a wheelchair.
Nixon converted the indoor swimming pool into the White House press room. Here's Socks, the White House cat, atop the podium in 1994.
Gerald Ford had an outdoor swimming pool installed just outside the Oval Office and used to take almost daily swims.
A quarter-mile running track was installed by Bill Clinton in 1993 so that he could exercise without disrupting Washington traffic. Clinton hardly used it, but his successor George W Bush went for runs there more frequently.
