President Eisenhower needed a quick and effective way to travel from Washington to his summer home in Rhode Island. Air Force One was too large for the trip and a motorcade would take too long, causing major traffic jams.
Helicopters were relatively new in aviation and the military began conducting tests to see if one would meet the needs of the president.
Check out the video of the landing tests they performed on the White House South Lawn in 1957.
Relive a special moment in history with this wonderful old photo of President Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth in a Lincoln Cosmopolitan in 1957. See the three photos taken that day here.
Take a trip down memory lane and explore the history of DC with these amazing photos from January 20th, 1953. See what life was like in the city decades ago with Ghosts of DC!
In September of 1960, the U.S. and Japan were celebrating 100 years of diplomatic relations. Crown Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko traveled to Washington at the end of the month to celebrate the occasion with an official state visit.
An amusing article was published in the Washington Post on September 28th of that year, detailing the state dinner at the White House.
Japan’s Crown Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko actually stopped traffic inside the White House last night as President Eisenhower‘s 4-year-old granddaughter Mary Jean was detoured down another corridor in her battery-powered miniature Thunderbird convertible.
Shortly before the royal couple’s arrival for the state dinner in their honor, Mary Jean was happily utilizing the wide marble-floored halls for driving practice, skillfully avoiding potted plants and dodging the shins of uniformed security sentries. As the hour neared for formality to commence, the preoccupied girl was dispatched elsewhere to play by a message relayed down from her parents, Lt. Col. and Mrs. John Eisenhower, who were upstairs dressed to join the other 88 guests.
…
Though Mary Jean’s 5-mile-an-hour auto looks luxurious, to her it’s a long-awaited secondhand hand-me-down. It belonged first to big brother David, who long ago graduated to a stripped-down soapbox derby type vehicle that zooms around the White House grounds at 15-miles-an-hour.
…
“We’ve been looking forward to your coming,” FIrst Lady Mamie Eisenhower told Princess Michiko during a personally conducted tour of the White House. At one point early in the evening, both women smiled at an obvious difference in Eastern and Western viewpoint. “This is quite old–the 1700s,” said Mrs. Eisenhower, indicating a yellow silk Philadelphia Chippendale chair in the Oval Room.
“Old in our country, that is,” she corrected herself, “not in yours.”
Both old and priceless of course. I’m surprising Governor Romney didn’t break that one as well during his clumsy visit.
Read the amusing story of Angeline Cliett, the 19-year-old Texan who locked the White House gate in 1958. Learn why President Eisenhower took no action against her and how the situation was resolved!
Relive the incredible story of the train wreck that occurred at Union Station just days before Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953. Miraculously, no fatalities occurred, but the station was left in shambles. Learn the amazing recovery story!
Discover the history of Poplar Point and the Anacostia Flats and learn what important events occurred here involving a future president. Read about the Bonus Army and the Summer of 1932 and Proposed Stadium Site. Plus, learn about Bolling Field opens for air mail.
I came across this one on YouTube. This was the first time the President of the United States was videotaped and then broadcast in color. This is the earliest surviving color videotape. It was filmed on May 22nd, 1958 in the WRC-TV studios in Washington (the local NBC affiliate).
The video starts off in black and white while Eisenhower’s motorcade approaches the studios, but then transitions to color for the first time when Robert Sarnoff, president of NBC, flips the switch in the middle of the broadcast.
Aviation has a long history in the Washington area. In 1958, Pan Am inaugurated their transatlantic passenger jet service. President Eisenhower was present for the christening ceremony at National Airport. Learn more about this historic moment!
One of the most powerful and important inaugural addresses of all time, this is something worth watching in its entirety. The whole speech is below if you’d like to read it. This is a truly amazing and powerful speech. If you want to skip to the famous quote, start watching at 13:45.
The full text of the speech is below if you’d like to read along.
