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Blue Room (White House)


The Blue Room is one of three state parlors on the first floor in the White House, the residence of the President of the United States. It is distinct for its oval shape. The room is used for receptions and receiving lines, and is occasionally set for small dinners. President Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom in the room on June 2, 1886, the only wedding of a President and First Lady in the White House. The room is traditionally decorated in shades of blue. With the Yellow Oval Room above it and the Diplomatic Reception Room below it, the Blue Room is one of three oval rooms in James Hoban's original design for the White House.

The room is approximately 30 by 40 feet (9.1 by 12.2 m). It has six doors, which open into the Cross Hall, Green Room, Red Room, and South Portico. The three windows look out upon the South Lawn.

The Blue Room is furnished in the French Empire style. A series of redecoratings through the 19th century caused most of the original pieces to be sold or lost. Today much of the furniture is original to the room. Eight pieces of gilded European beech furniture purchased during the administration of James Monroe furnish the room, including a bergère (an armchair with enclosed sides) and several fauteuils (an open wood-frame armchair). The suite of furniture was produced in Paris around 1812 by the cabinetmaker Pierre-Antoine Bellangé, and reproduction side chairs and armchairs were made by Maison Jansen in 1961 during the Kennedy restoration. A marble-top center table has been in the White House since it was purchased by Monroe in 1817. A c. 1817 ormolu French Empire mantel clock with a figure of Hannibal, by Denière et Matelin, sits on the mantel.


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