Mr. Truman's Renovation: Workmen

Gallery

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Framed by the fan window in the West Sitting Hall of the Second Floor, a workman finishes the installation of new trim on February 5, 1952.
Harry S. Truman Library Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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Dwarfed by the massive steel beams and supporting structures, a worker inspects the new elevator well in the sub-basement on October 25, 1950.
Harry S. Truman Library Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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Sculptor Ferdinand J. Bruyninck with an example of his work, the ornamental plaster seal to be placed over the doorway to the Blue Room on September 14, 1951.
National Park Service
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To underscore the size of the massive new ventilation system being installed above the tunnel in the new White House basement, Rowe placed workmen inside the illuminated ductwork on July 19, 1951.
Harry S. Truman Library Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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A massive new 36-inch concrete sewer line is laid through the concrete foundation wall. While one workman prepares to send excavated dirt through one section of the sewer line, another prepares a new section for installation into the excavated area by hydraulic jacks on July 6, 1950.
National Park Service

About this Gallery

As skilled craftsmen molded the raw materials into finished floors, walls, and ceilings, Abbie Rowe captured on film the contributions of the various construction trades. To add scale and a human personality, he was careful to include the faces of workers in many of his photographs. Their expressions often revealed their pride in contributing to the rebuilding of the White House.

Where once the White House had nearly collapsed from its structural deficiencies, now 660 tons of steel strengthened the new concrete inner walls and floors. Although retaining much of its historical appearance, the interior of the house now sparkled with new paint, wall coverings, parquet flooring and tile. At a cost of $5.7 million, the White House had been rebuilt to serve the needs of the modern Presidency while retaining the symbolism as the historic home of the President.