BOWLING AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Yes, believe it or not, today I’m going to take you bowling at The White House! Well, actually, we will do this vicariously through my DC dwelling son who has friends in all the right places. I’d like to walk in his shoes one day. Well, his bowling shoes anyway.
The White House Bowling Alley is a two-lane bowling alley located in the basement of The White House Executive Building.
Bowling lanes were first built in the ground floor of the West Wing as a birthday gift for President Truman in 1947. That first bowling alley was situated in the location of the present-day Situation Room. Truman didn’t care for bowling himself, but allowed his staff to start a league. In 1969, President and Mrs. Nixon, both avid bowlers, had a new one-lane alley built and paid for by friends, in an underground area below the driveway leading to the North Portico.
Richard Nixon in the Old Executive Office Building Bowling Alley in 1970
In more recent years George Bush made use of the facility, as, I’m told, did President Obama.
Photographs of Presidents bowling line the walls of what is called The Harry S. Truman Bowling Alley.
A display case houses White House Bowling Alley memorabilia. It appears that they even have official White House bowling balls & pins.
When you go bowling at The White House there’s no need to come equipped, as bowling shoes of every size are at the ready.
President Trump encourages the use of the bowling alley by members of Congress & his immediate staff (my son’s friend is Jared Kushner’s right-hand-man), who may also invite their friends to go bowling at The White House. Thus the illustrious opportunity afforded to my son, who was kind enough to share these photos with me. You know it’s amazing how the 30-something young people like my son, who started working on Capitol Hill after finishing college about 10 years ago, now hold important positions in government. I never quite imagined what great opportunities would be the result of sending my son off to University in DC.
But, judging by the scoreboard, he’ll need to brush up on his game before he is invited back for bowling at The White House. Well actually, it does look like he’s in 2nd place.
So there you have it: BOWLING AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Thanks so much for dropping in!
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All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are the original property of Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com and may not be reproduced without specific permission.
