White House Library

John Adams, the first president to live in the White House, used this room as a laundry room; at that time, it was said to have been filled with "Tubs, Buckets, and a variety of Lumber"; at the time, lumber meant "miscellaneous useless articles that are stored away".

During Millard Fillmore's presidency (1850–1853), Congressional funding was requested to establish a White House library.

This library was originally in the Yellow Oval Room and was maintained there until 1929, when the Hoover administration moved it to its current location.

These were left unpainted until the administration of John F. Kennedy, when decorator Stéphane Boudin recreated the room as a painted Federal style parlor.

To stand out, an unusual lighthouse clock was made by Simon Willard to commemorate the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to the United States in 1824–1825.