Awnings at the White House

Specialty Fabrics Review | October 2009

Compiled by Juli Case

With all the interest in the U.S. for conserving energy and sustainability, do we know if awnings were ever on the White House?

Yes, awnings used to be a regular feature on the White House. Specifically, they provided shade on the South Portico area of the building. There were also often canopies, with and without sidewalls, and those have been seen more recently than awnings. Color schemes ranged from stripes to white. We’re not historians and so couldn’t determine exactly when or why awnings stopped being used on the White House, but they seem to have been more common before the construction of the Truman Balcony in the late 1940s.

SOURCE Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, +1 816 268 8200

SOURCE White House Museum, +1 816 268 8200

Juli Case is IFAI's information and technical services manager.

Comments

Comments are the opinion of individual posters and do not reflect the views of Specialty Fabrics Review or Industrial Fabrics Association International.

• 

  Aquino

  Feb 5, 2010
  6:22 pm CST

  Use of Awnings

  The awnings were in fact used as shade for the portico area in the summer months.  They were removed after the completion of the Truman Balcony.  At this point, the floor above the portico, which was the balcony, provided shade and the awnings weren't needed.