Smithsonian.com expands on Smithsonian magazine's in-depth coverage of history, science, nature, the

In 1962, viewers the nation over (and later the world) marveled at Jackie Kennedy s tour of the freshly revamped White House in an extensive one-hour televised tour of the executive mansion . But the film, with it s camera trained on First Lady was missing something: all the people who work behind the scenes to make the White House run, from butlers to plumbers to chefs, and everyone in between. The Smithsonian Channel s new program, The White House Revealed , provides an intimate and modern portrait of the most famous home in America by way of its extensive staff. You can watch White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier (who retired after over 40 years in the executive kitchen) as he recalls several past presients penchants for sweets (for better car rentals in atlanta and for worse.) Tune in to the full program Friday night at 7:00 on the Smithsonian Channel.
As an Arlington, Virginia resident fortunate enough to get a behind the scenes White House tour in March, 2008, I think that this program captured the sense of what I learned and experienced during my tour. I recommend this program highly. It was just shown again at 7:00 PM on 19 February 2010. I hope it is eventually released on DVD.
Comments are moderated, and will not appear until Smithsonian.com has approved them. Smithsonian reserves the right not to post any comments that are unlawful, threatening, offensive, car rentals in atlanta defamatory, invasive of a person's privacy, inappropriate, confidential or proprietary, political messages, product endorsements, or other content that might otherwise violate any laws or policies.
Smithsonian.com expands on Smithsonian magazine's in-depth coverage of history, science, nature, the arts, travel, world culture and technology. Join us regularly as we take a dynamic and interactive approach to exploring modern and historic perspectives on the arts, sciences, nature, world culture and travel, including videos, blogs and a reader forum.