Most people know about the Burning of the White House in 1814….but in 1929?
The White House Hoovers
Few First Families were as well known, or came to the White House with higher expectations from their countrymen as Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover in 1928.
Not only was Hoover a world renowned mining engineer whose substantial fortune was all self-earned, but he achieved global fame as a mega-humanitarian, organizing aid to countries decimated during World War I. Once the US had entered the War, President Wilson summoned Hoover “home.” He had been living abroad for two decades. Assuming the position of Food Administrator, he managed to voluntarily save/increase food production by more than 15%, in order to feed our own military forces, supply our overseas allies, and help feed millions of starving Europeans as well.
With little if any serious political interests (or ambitions), he served as Secretary of Commerce to both Presidents Harding and Coolidge.
Herbert Hoover looked like a President in 1928
By the election of 1928, Herbert Hoover was well-poised to be the Republican candidate for president.
Meanwhile, his wife had achieved her own well-earned recognition via her humanitarian efforts – plus her deep and abiding interest in the Girl Scouts, where she served as its National President.
Hoover won by a landslide, and everyone expected great things!
Let The Bad Times Roll
In a private moment, during those months between election and inauguration, Hoover was known to remark to a friend, that he worried that the country might encounter a problem “he couldn’t fix.” He was not an economic maven, but the boom market of the Roaring 20s had become a concern to him.
Only six months into his term, the Stock Market tumbled, ushering in a decade-long deep depression.
But the Great Depression (as it would be called) did not happen all at once. The Stock Market crash in October was definitely an unsettling hiccup, but the weeks that followed were a more gradual slide – with even a few days indicating possible recovery. People were concerned – but not panicked.
That came later.
Christmas Eve, 1929
A rare photo of President and Mrs. Hoover with their grown sons and daughter-in-law.
Some six weeks after the Stock Market tanked, a holiday party for White House staff members and their families was scheduled for Christmas Eve, and the festivities were in full swing. Senior aides, their wives and children had been invited for dinner, with plenty of games, treats and presents for the children. The Marine Band was playing Christmas carols to entertain the President’s guests.
The West Wing caught fire on Xmas Eve, 1929. (LOC)
Around 8 pm, one of the White House aides checked the West Wing offices smelled smoke, investigated, and realized that the attic, in which was stored thousands of government pamphlets dating back to the time of Theodore Roosevelt (when the West Wing was built) had caught fire, possibly from electrical wiring or a faulty chimney. Everything was burning like a brushfire.
A messenger quickly alerted the President, advising that the Fire Department had been summoned and was already en route. The President’s staff, secretaries and Secret Service agents immediately ran to help remove important papers and furnishings. Insisting that he would go too, Hoover joined them. They physically crawled into the President’s office through a window to remove desk drawers filled with important files. A huge tarpaulin was thrown over the President’s desk.
President Hoover personally helped salvage important files and documents. (LOC)
While the Hoover’s female guests were ushered to safety, Mrs. Hoover, always clear-headed, took charge of the children, evacuating them to a place on the other side of the White House, far away from harm. She made a game of waiting to see the fire trucks come and put out the fire.
The Fire Trucks Come
The fire had begun in the attic of the West Wing, where thousands of pamphlets were stored. (LOC)
Granted, the Christmas Eve fire was not nearly as severe as the one back in 1814, when the Executive Mansion was deliberately torched by British soldiers. Nevertheless, in 1929, it was a four-alarm fire. Nineteen engine companies, four truck companies – and 130 firefighters showed up to put out the flames, first breaking a domed skylight and part of the roof to let smoke out – and the water in.
According to White House archives, the below-freezing temperatures hampered the firefighters as ice formed around their efforts, which included pumping water in from more than five blocks away. A few firefighters were overcome by smoke and flames – but their injuries were considered minor and treated quickly.
The fire was declared contained, and completely put out by 10:30 that night.
Assessing the Damage
Interestingly enough, the White House was not insured. (That “oversight” would be immediately remedied!) An appropriation had to be rushed through Congress so proper repairs could be made.
The Executive offices had been severely damaged; the press office was ruined beyond repair; the roof, attic and floors were badly burned, charred and soaked. The walls, however, while water-logged and sooty, held strong.
Repairing the damage and making the West Wing offices fit for occupancy use took three and a half months. Hoover and his aides moved back in on April 14, 1930.
The President and Mrs. Hoover hosted another holiday party for staff members and their families at Christmas, 1930. The First Lady, to commemorate the unforeseen “events” of the previous year, had miniature fire trucks made to give to the children as Christmas gifts.
Much Much Later
The 2016 White House ornament. You can still get one!
Since 1981, more than 50 years after the West Wing Fire, the White House began offering specially designed and crafted annual Christmas ornaments, available to anyone willing to pay their nominal fee. Most of the ornaments commemorate structures, symbols and White House or Americana-related events.
In 2016, the White House Historical Association commissioned a “fire truck” to memorialize the Fire of 1929 – and Mrs. Hoover’s Christmas fire truck “gift” to the children.
Sources:
Caroli, Betty Boyd – First Ladies: An Intimate Look at How 38 Women Handled what may be the most Demanding, Unpaid, Unelected Job in America – Oxford University Press, 1995
Hoover, Irwin Hood – 42 Years in the White House – Houghton Mifflin Co. , 1934
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-christmas-eve-west-wing-fire-of-1929
https://hoover.archives.gov/hoovers/first-lady-lou-henry-hoover
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