Election 2020

Take a Look at the Most Incredible Presidential Residences in History

From the Obama-era White House to the childhood home of Mary Todd Lincoln, first families have long lived (very) well

The Obama White House cover.  Here, two works by Josef Albers can clearly be seen.

Photo: AD, December 2016

With Election Day practically upon us, all talk has understandably turned to the U.S. presidency—and its famous metonym, the White House. Not only the seat of power for the executive branch of government but also the presidential residence, the house itself is steeped in richly decorated history. Unsurprisingly, AD has covered the White House prominently in its pages over the course of its own 100-year history. But throughout the past century, this magazine has also gone far beyond the White House’s hallowed halls to delve more deeply into the various places that current and former presidents have called home. 

Many readers may recall the December 2016 exclusive on the Obama White House. (The revitalized interiors, which were masterminded by AD100 designer Michael S. Smith, were also the subject of a recent book.) But as significant as that editorial may have been, it only scratches the surface of what the AD archives hold. Of course, there are notable examples of coverage that don’t quite fit the criteria of “presidential home” that may nonetheless also pique readers’ interest. Just last year, for example, Bill and Hillary Clinton’s D.C. home was featured on the Architectural Digest website as a digital exclusive, while the charming childhood home of Mary Todd Lincoln was included in the June 1981 issue. The United States Naval Observatory, the traditional home of the U.S. vice president, was featured in December 2001, not long after its refurbishment. Then–second lady Lynne Cheney wrote the piece.

In December 2004, AD ran a deep-dive look into the White House interiors of the Reagan and Kennedy administrations. Focusing on Nancy Reagan’s taste and Jackie Kennedy’s love of all things French, the story made the cover of the magazine. Interestingly, the image of the White House exterior that was used also appeared on the cover of the March 2008 issue, which included a feature on the redecoration done during the George W. Bush administration. “There’s a great reminder of history when you live here,” Laura Bush mused to the magazine at the time. And while that article discussed everything from Oval Office carpet choices to the significant updates made to the famous Lincoln bedroom, Mrs. Bush’s decorator noted that they “changed only those rooms that needed changing.” Reverent point aside, the article also had its moments that verged on near-humor. At one point Laura noted of former fellow first lady Barbara Bush, “I also have a mother-in-law who stays now in these guest bedrooms and will be perfectly frank about what she would like in the rooms and what she wouldn’t.”

After the Bushes left the White House, George and Laura’s Crawford ranch graced the August 2014 cover of the magazine, capturing Texas’s famous wild flowers in full bloom. Laura Bush was apparently extremely happy with the feature. The Los Angeles Times ran an article at the time titled, “Laura Bush Gets Her Wish: A Cover Story in Architectural Digest.” The coverage cited social media posts from her twin daughters as evidence. Barbara wrote, “Now @laurawbush can go to heaven a happy lady!” While Jenna chimed in to add, “The designer in her got into the designer Bible @architecturaldigest.” As for President George W. Bush, he noted in AD’s “Texas Triumph” article of the home’s surrounding nature: “We wanted to see and enjoy the beauty as much as possible.”

One of two times this photograph of the White House appeared on the cover of Architectural Digest

Photo: Architectural Digest, December 2004

A lesser-known presidential residence featured in the pages of this magazine was the U.S.S. Sequoia. First launched in 1925, the former official presidential yacht was ultimately sold during the Carter administration. Nonetheless, as the January 1983 article made clear, it was used for the visits of important foreign dignitaries such as Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth during its heyday. The AD article, which ran a handful of years after that vessel was auctioned off, detailed restoration efforts made as well as the interiors created by legendary decorator Dorothy Draper

The 1980s was a decade chock-full of other relevant presidential features. In July 1985, Architectural Digest visited the New York City home of Donald Trump and his then-wife Ivana, while former first lady Lady Bird Johnson hosted the magazine less than 10 years after the death of her husband, Lyndon Johnson, at the LBJ ranch. Thanks to Lady Bird’s noted interest in and dedication to the preservation of gardens and wildlife, the April 1986 feature was a particularly natural fit for AD

Campobello, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s summer cottage, was covered in the March 1985 issue. (The home, not far from Maine, is actually located in Canada.) Almost 10 years earlier, Architectural Digest featured the residence of FDR’s distant cousin and fellow president, Theodore Roosevelt. His Long Island estate, dubbed Sagamore Hill, was a favorite retreat for the president, who once wrote, “Fond as I am of the White House and much though I have appreciated these years in it, there isn’t any place in the world like home—like Sagamore Hill, where things are our own, with our own associations.”

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In August 1995, Architectural Digest highlighted the gardens at La Casa Pacifica. As it happened, the California residence had become the “West Coast White House” for Richard Nixon at the start of his presidency. Seeds from a magnolia tree planted by President Andrew Jackson were used in the garden, which was was originally featured in AD in 1970. Another article, published in April 2000, turned its attention once again westward, and specifically to Ronald Reagan’s home life in California’s Pacific Palisades. The author quoted Reagan as once saying, “California isn’t a place.… It’s a way of life.”

The White House notwithstanding, the oldest presidential home that AD has ever taken readers inside is Oak Hill. The Virginia country estate of President James Monroe was first purchased by Monroe in 1794 and was ultimately covered by Architectural Digest in 1979. The house was heavily influenced by Thomas Jefferson—another former president as well as Monroe’s good personal friend. And as its historic yet little-known nature proves, there are so many presidential residences out there that are still ripe for future coverage.

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The Obama-era White House.

Photo: AD, December 2016

The opening spread to the 2008 feature on the Bush White House. 

Photo: Architectural Digest, March 2008

Chez George and Laura Bush. This exterior view of the home also appeared on the cover of the issue. 

Photo: Architectural Digest, August 2014

A look inside the Kennedy White House. Jacqueline Kennedy worked with famed decorator Sister Parish on the interiors before the two women had a falling out. 

Photo: Architectural Digest, December 2004

The little-known U.S.S. Sequoia included a fully appointed dining room. 

Photo: Architectural Digest, January 1983

Donald Trump’s Manhattan home, which was designed by Angelo Donghia. 

Photo: Architectural Digest, July 1985

Just one of several stunning garden photographs from La Casa Pacifica. 

Photo: Architectural Digest, August 1995

Campobello, where Franklin D. Roosevelt summered. 

Photo: Architectural Digest, March 1985

The opening spread to the Oak Hill feature. President Monroe wrote his Monroe Doctrine at the estate, and retired here to write his autobiography. 

Photo: Architectural Digest, May 1979