The Vice President’s House is celebrating its 50th birthday! Prior to that date, there was no official residence for the vice president, and there’s quite the backstory to how it was established. The residence actually started in 1893, as the home of the superintendent of the Naval Observatory, and also of chiefs of naval operations.

In 1966, the House Public Works Committee approved to pay up to $750,000 for a new home to be built on the Naval Observatory grounds. But (former Vice) President Lyndon Johnson suspended this project due to the poor economy. At the time, House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford made it clear to his constituency that he disagreed with the Public Works Committee measure. 

In July 1974, Public Law 93-346 was passed by Congress, designating the house the official residence of the vice president – at that time, Gerald Ford. He and his family began preparing for the move from Alexandria to the Victorian-style home. 

When Betty toured the house for the first time, accompanied by the White House curator, Clem Conger, and his assistant, Betty Monkman, she quickly realized that a lot needed to be done to turn this vacant house into a place that was not only a livable home for their family but also suitable for all the entertaining that was expected of the vice president and his wife. …(S)he wanted Jerry to approve the area she’d selected for the family living quarters and for entertaining guests. She had made arrangements to go on Thursday, August 1. At five thirty that evening, Betty was waiting in the limousine outside the Old Executive Office Building, waiting for Jerry to finish up his day and drive with her to the Naval Observatory house.¹

Vice President Ford went through this tour of the house after learning earlier that day that the possibility of him becoming President was looking more and more plausible. His family would likely not be moving to the Naval Observatory (then also known as the Admiral’s House). Instead, the Fords moved into the White House following President Nixon’s resignation.

With Nelson Rockefeller’s confirmation as Vice President, the residence became his (and wife, Happy’s) to use. After making some renovations and adding fine art touches, the Rockefellers formally opened One Observatory Circle to guests for housewarming receptions in September 1975. 

President and Mrs. Ford, as well as Susan, attended the first of these on September 7th. (Also invited to that evening’s reception were two future inhabitants of the residence – Senator Joseph Biden and his guest Jill Stevenson (AKA Dr. Jill Biden).

The Rockefellers used the Admiral’s House to entertain, opting to remain in their private Foxhall Road home, which was situated on over 20 acres of land. 

They decorated the new vice president’s home with artworks from their personal collection, including a Max Ernst-designed “cage” bed.

The Rockefellers donated several pieces of art to the home’s official collection. They even wanted to donate the bed, but alas this piece was not accepted by successor vice presidents. 

Author: Brooke Clement

1. McCubbin, Lisa. Betty Ford: First Lady, Women’s Advocate, Survivor, Trailblazer. Page 138. ↩︎