Promenade

The Promenade

Before the construction of a proper third floor in 1927, this was simply part of the roof. Early in the 20th century a simple "sleeping porch" was built here in the space now occupied by the Solarium. The Promenade has since become something like a patio for first families. President Eisenhower like to grill on the Promenade. His preferred method was to grill salt-encrusted steaks right on the coals.

The Promenade is surrounded by a high and heavy balustrade that shields it from wind and from view. The Promenade sits about 3 feet higher than the third floor itself, except for the Solarium, which is at the same level as the Promenade.

Adapted from America's First Families: Chapter 3, A Home Within a Symbol:

Just outside the Solarium and around the roof's perimeter is a promenade, hidden from public view, where Mrs. Clinton raised cherry tomato plants. This is where Eisenhower turned his steaks and burgers on a fifties barbecue grill, and Susan Ford brought her cat Shan out to play. In the evenings, the Carter sons used a telescope to identify stars, while during the day, the family suntanned here. A century earlier Jesse Grant had used a smaller roof nook for his telescope. When Theodore Roosevelt prohibited his daughter Alice from smoking her cigarettes "under this roof," this is where she climbed to obey him -- to smoke on the roof.