Presidential Sites Part 4: Lincoln's Summer House

In honor of today being Presidents Day I thought I’d share my visit to President Lincoln’s Summer House.  This seems particularly timely given all the Oscar chatter about the film Lincoln.  Have you seen it?  What did you think?

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I went a few weeks ago with one of my good pals and both enjoyed it…mostly.  It was a bit long and did drag a bit in places but the acting & dialog was just magnificent!

Well, back in December I was in DC on a business trip and (check out my visit to Julia Child’s kitchen in the Smithsonian here) decided as I often do to stay a couple of extra days and site see.

My meetings were scheduled for all day Thursday & Friday morning so....Christmas in DC…of course I was going to do some site-seeing.  My Aunt happened to be there at the same time…she was on the committee to decorate the White House for Christmas…how exciting is that???  So, I was looking for something fun that she probably had not been to a million times already and I stumbled on the Lincoln Summer White House.

The Front Entrance

The Back...Lincoln spent much of his time socializing with Veterans here

It’s newly opened and just on the outskirts of most of the major museums so it hasn’t picked up the same traffic as most of the more known DC sites.  I had visited many of the president vacation white houses....Truman’s in Key West, FDR’s in Warm Springs & Campobello, LBJ’s in TX….and they often tell more about the men and their families than the libraries do so the Lincoln Cottage definitely caught my interest and my Aunt was definitely in.

Isn't this iron work just magnificent?  

The windows on the first floor opened into a door sized opening for access to the porch. 

The bottom wall/door opens inward and the window sash lifts up..
photo from National Historic Trust Booklet - Eric Uecke 2009

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The Lincoln cottage is a 34 room gothic revival style house on the grounds of an estate that was bought by the federal government in 1851 for the sole purpose of housing retired veterans.  The Soldier’s Home still houses veterans today.  In Lincoln’s time during the sweltering summer months of DC he shared the property with 300 veterans and commuted the roughly 3 miles to the capitol every day.

This site has been well used over the last 160+ years but was not made a National Historic Landmark until 2000.  It underwent an 8 year renovation and officially opened on Presidents Day in 2008.

Pre & Post Restoration Front Door 2004 vs 2009
photo from National Historic Trust Booklet

23 layers of paint were removed from the Library as part of the renovation...yes 23!  photo from National Historic Trust Booklet 

There are not a ton of furnishings in place and all of those on display are exact reproductions of the Lincoln's furnishings but the tour is a guided one so you get a story filled view of Lincoln’s time here.  The architecture is fully American and well-crafted if not entirely grandiose. Also on display is the original document of the Emancipation Declaration.

photo from National Historic Trust Booklet - Carol M Highsmith Photography

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Gorgeous floor from the Entryway
photo from National Historic Trust Booklet - Gaston Lacombe 2009

The Lincoln Cottage is a couple of miles out of the center of DC so it’s doable by cab (which is how we go there) but take my advice and arrange for your return transport ahead of time because finding a cab to return…not so much.  Luckily my DC savvy Aunt knew the public transport systems so we just hopped a bus to a train that would drop us back in the vicinity of our hotel.

PS:  Little trick for those not taxi savvy when travelling...if you are in a city and need a cab but can't seem to locate one head to the closest hotel. Cabs are generally fairly available ready to squire hotel patrons around so they are happy to pick you up.  This is particularly helpful to remember when you are "lost"...not that I have personally ever had to resort to this trick... :)

sharing this week on:  Cozy Little House, Savvy Southern Style, Elizabeth & Co, Coastal Charm, Jennifer Rizzo

Local DC Goodness - Miss Pixie

Ok, so with all of the wonderful pics I’m seeing on everyone else’s blogs in the last couple of weeks I am feeling extremely negligent in my Christmas decorating this year so far.  And since I’m such a slacker I’ll share a little more of my DC adventures today.

While looking for some local DC Christmas shopping opportunities I came upon a vintage shop called Miss Pixie (thanks to my good friend Yelp)…well with that name you know I had to put it on my must see list!
The pictures on Yelp show a pink storefront with black & white awnings…oh yeah….but, not exactly what I found when I arrived.

Miss Pixies
1626 14th St NW, Washington DC

 

Other than a drastically different exterior I was so not disappointed by what I found on the interior.  Such cool things!

How fab are these lanterns!

This was cast iron so was heavier than it looks...would look
so nice in my front entry....

And I came at just the right time of year.  Miss Pixie does Christmas right!  I have absolutely never seen such a collection of vintage Christmas bulbs (aka Shiny Brites).

Biggest regret of my DC trip...not buying up all of these!

And where else are you going to see a blue feathered tree on one side of the store and a pink balsam tree on the other side?

This brings Dr Seuss to mind for some reason :)

I've been looking for one of these this year...a bit
tacky but tacky in a chic kind of way

Did you check out the dresser I painted for my office/project room (if not you can see it here)?  Well, I am super proud of it now…Miss Pixie had this one exactly like it (different color paint) with a $150 price tag on it.  How cool is that…mine cost less than $20 (for paint)!

I love that this was priced at $150 and my exact duplicate cost me $20
in paint & materials.  

No question I picked wisely for my local DC stop…there was so much inspiration here.

Farm table perfection!

I walked away with so many ideas…and a list of other cool shops in the area that Miss Pixie generously shares with any customer with a keen eye to the stack sitting on the counter.  I'm all ready for my next DC adventure!

Smithsonian Inspiration - Kelly & Julia

I spent this past weekend in Washington DC extending my stay after a couple day business trip.  DC is a fairly familiar city for me...one of my Aunt's lived in the area for many years and I always loved visiting when I was young.  So much to do, so much fun!

There is always something new to see but I also have my faves that I always hit.  One of these is the Julia Child kitchen on exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.  I first caught this exhibit 9 or 10 years ago and I still see something new in it every time I visit.

Julia Child in her kitchen in Cambridge MA
Photo source

I find it so amazing that the Smithsonian went into the Child’s Cambridge MA house that they had lived in for many, many years , disassembled, inventoried, photographed, documented and moved the whole kitchen into the museum.  Reassembled in exact replica it's set up as it was when the Child's lived in their house and Julia shared her culinary genius with the world.

Julia Child's Kitchen as reassembled at the Smithsonian
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A funny happened as I was editing my photos from this visit though…

Actually it really started when I was looking at the cookbooks on Julia’s bookshelf…I spied Joy of Cooking.  Over the years I have had a ton of cookbooks but I find that Joy of Cooking is really all I need.  Really, it’s definitely my bible....when I cook I tend to look for a basic recipe and tweak to my taste so it’s perfect to give the basics for any possible thing.

A very important section of my cookbook shelf...the most used section

Anyhow….last year I shared my secret bible with one of my good friends for Christmas so when I spotted not 1 but 2 versions on Julia’s shelf I was so excited I immediately texted my pal to let her know what good company we were keeping.

Part of Julia's cookbook shelf...apparently her well used section too

And then as I was editing my photo’s there were other parallels that I began to notice between my kitchen and Julia’s.

Remember my pot/pan pegboard that I first told you about here?

My pot/pan storage solution

Well, Julia has one (or two) too…

Julia's pot/pan storage solution

Remember my old school clock  I bought at Circa in the Berkshires (see it here)?

My new (vintage) kitchen clock

Well, Julia has one too…

Love this old school clock
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I was really surprised to see her blue kitchen aid mixer…mine is white (you can see it in my pegboard pic above) but they are both the same model.

Ok, and this may be a bit of a stretch but Julia’s kitchen is green & blue…mine is green with a blue rug.  Who cares if hers is a totally different shade and she uses it on her cupboards and mine is on the walls…same color palate right?

I am loving these copper pans...this will be my inspiration
photo for years to come.

Now if I could only cook like Julia and become a beloved American Icon….the possibilities are endless.