vice president residence naval observatory

The grounds also featured a tree swing, where he loved to push his granddaughters, TODAY's Jenna Bush Hager and her twin sister, Barbara.ĭan Quayle, who had a young, sports-mad family when he moved in the residence, had a backyard pool installed in 1991 along with an exercise room. Mansell / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images The home, shown here in 1900, occupies four acres on a 72-acre compound at the United States Naval Observatory. He also loved jogging the grounds so much that he continued to do so even after being elected president in 1988. Bush had a horseshoe pit added during his time as vice president under Ronald Reagan in the 1980s so he could enjoy one of his favorite pastimes. In a scene hard to imagine today, Walter Mondale even cooked a meal of fettuccine and grilled fish for 70 newspaper reporters at the residence in 1980, Denyer wrote. His wife, Joan Mondale, started traditions like filling the home with art on loan from galleries and entertaining guests and dignitaries. Prior to Number One Observatory Circle, vice presidents lived everywhere from apartments to hotel rooms to suburban homes, which became a headache for the Secret Service to always be changing security protocols to accommodate new residences. It wasn't designated as a home for the vice president until a joint resolution passed by Congress in 1974 over the objections of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, who was living there at the time before his tenure ended. It has been reported that there are as many as 33 and as little as five, Denyer summarized in his book. Since the public is not allowed inside, no one seems to know exactly how many rooms the home contains because the information isn't released publicly for security reasons. The home was originally built in 1893 and was not designated as the official residence of the vice president until 1975 after congressional hearings. The grounds also house telescopes, libraries and a dedicated landing area for Marine One and Marine Two, the helicopters that transport the president and vice president, respectively. The building features classical columns, a large porch in the front, a grand entry hall and bay windows. Naval Observatory, but the chief of naval operations took a liking to it so he booted out the superintendent and took the house himself, according to the White House. It was supposed to be the home of the superintendent of the U.S.

Vice president residence naval observatory