Western White House
The logo in the background was created by the Bush Administration in August 2001, and is displayed at press briefings during Bush's stays at his ranch in Crawford. The sign reads:
CRAWFORD, TEXAS
The Western White House is the name currently used for the Crawford, Texas ranch of George W. Bush, President of the United States. The term has also been used by other chief executives for their homes in California (Presidents Nixon and Reagan), and in Hawaii by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt while working away from the official presidential residence, the White House. [citation needed]
Franklin Delano Roosevelt briefly resided and administered the duties of his office from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, during World War II. The hotel was called the Western White House during his stay. Roosevelt was also the first President to use the Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland, facility later named Camp David (named after President Dwight D. Eisenhower's grandson). Camp David is sometimes known as the "Weekend White House". The model for Camp David is Herbert Hoover's retreat known as Rapidan Camp (Camp Hoover).
The first governmental spending on property improvements of private presidential residences was at Dwight Eisenhower’s Gettysburg farm, where the Secret Service added three guard posts to a fence.[1] Federal law now allows the president to designate a residence outside of the White House as his temporary offices,[2] so that federal money can be used to provide required facilities.[3]
During the Johnson administration, the LBJ Ranch on the Pedernales River in Texas served as the Western White House.[4] Likewise, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan often retreated to their California homes during their presidencies. Nixon went to La Casa Pacifica in San Clemente, California, while Reagan spent nearly 1/8th of his presidency at his Rancho del Cielo in Santa Barbara County, California. Reagan also spent so much time at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, that the press also dubbed the hotel the Western White House for a time. Their homes were each officially dubbed the Western White House, and substantial Federal funds were used to make security, communications, and real estate improvements.[1] Nixon also had a home in Key Biscayne, Florida, which was known as the "Southern White House" or the Florida White House.[5]
Gerald Ford conducted a considerable amount of the nation’s business from "The Lodge" in Vail, Colorado, which became known as the Western White House during his presidency.[6]
Bill Clinton, in contrast to his successor, did not maintain a "Western White House" during his presidency (neither did he maintain a personal residence as Governor of Arkansas). After leaving office, he and his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), purchased a home in New York.
The current official Western White House is Prairie Chapel Ranch, the Crawford, Texas, home of George W. Bush. The Bush administration created a logo for the Western White House in August 2001. A sign with the logo has been hung in the press briefing area in Crawford at the start of each of Bush's August vacations; the blue oval sign bears the Seal of the President of the United States and reads, "The Western White House / Crawford, Texas".[7][8] The daily press operations in Crawford are set up in the gymnasium of Crawford Middle School, which is several miles from the Bush ranch. The iconic ramshackle barn seen behind correspondents as they do their live reports is actually the school's maintenance shed, and has no connection to the Western White House.
References
- ^ a b Damon, Allan L. (June 1974). "Presidential Expenses". Volume 25, Issue 4. American Heritage Magazine.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ 31 C.F.R. 408.2(c)
- ^ "Around the Nation; Reagan designates ranch a 'Western White House'". The New York Times (Associate Press). 1981-02-05.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Texas Research Trip" (Website). The Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies. Retrieved 2006-08-09.
- ^ "Richard Nixon, Mortgagee". TIME Magazine. 1973-09-10. Retrieved 2006-08-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Wyrick, Randy (2006-07-14). "Ford celebrates 93rd birthday in Vail". Vail Daily.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Pictures of the Week". Time. August 2001. Retrieved 2006-08-09.
- ^ "Press Briefing by Scott McClellan" (Press release). The White House. 2001-08-09.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)