Main Content
The first instance of White House Historical Association paying for the White House China set was in 1968, when an anonymous donor funded the purchase of the Johnson China set through the Association. After the china is created, it is used for formal occasions such as State Dinners. Presidents can use other administrations' china as well, depending on their tastes and the occasion. Today, samples of the White House China collection are displayed on the Ground Floor of the White House in the China Room.
Compiled by the White House Historical Association. Please credit the Association by its full name when using this information.
Please direct your inquiries to press@whha.org
Refer to our Rights and Reproductions Guidelines for image usage information.
Beginning with the first residents of the White House, an interest in food and the dish services of the Executive Mansion has been an inspiration for the eventual formation of the collection of official White House china.
The house in which the President of the United States lives has always had a great fascination for American citizens who have come to feel they share in the ownership of the Executive Mansion. Throughout its more than 200 year history, the style in which the house is furnished has been determined—to varying degrees—by the money appropriated by Congress from
When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau attended a State Dinner at the White House on March 10, 2016, they enjoyed a meal that was the result of months of thoughtful preparation. From the floral arrangements to the menu, no detail was overlooked—and this included the plates off of which they ate. Guests at White House fun
The State Dining Room, which now seats as many as 140 guests, was originally much smaller and served at various times as a drawing room, office, and Cabinet Room. Not until the Andrew Jackson administration was it called the “State Dining Room,” although previous Presidents had used it for formal dinners.
The White House has undergone a significant number of changes since President John Adams first called the Executive Mansion home.
John and Abigail Adams had a wealth of experience in establishing and living in official houses prior to their move into the new President's House in Washington, D.C., in 1800. Adams had represented the United States in diplomatic missions to Europe during the Revolution, and in Paris and London in the 1780s when Abigail Adams joined him. They lived and
State Dinners at the White House have been a tradition for more than a hundred years and are examples of goodwill and influence between the United States and other nations.
