HOW DID AMERICA END UP WITH 5 MILLION pink bathrooms? Credit goes to: A super-efficient military wife with sparkling blue eyes.
Mamie Doud Eisenhower had a tried-and-true method for setting up new households as she traveled the world with her husband the General. She knew she looked good in pink. Put the two together and ultimately you get: Mamie Pink bathrooms all across America. Five million is my conservative estimate. Maybe even 10 million, a reader yesterday estimated. Today we dive into the story of how Mamie Eisenhower led us down this primrose pink path. Above: 1960 Christmas card made by Hallmark for Mamie. All images in this post courtesy The Eisenhower National Historic Site. Heck yeah there is more →
A view of the Koravos family kitchen. Courtesy of Historic New England. Used on this site with permission.
THE 1957 KITCHEN from the Koravos family home in Andover, Massachusetts is the eye candy of the America’s Kitchens exhibition. Imagine original robin’s egg blue metal cabinets, stainless Westinghouse wall oven and cooktop, and canary yellow Formica counters with space-age patterning, all in near pristine condition. Mrs. Koravos preferred to cook in a second full kitchen in her basement, leaving this one on the first floor, which her guests would see, clean and clutter-free. Heck yeah there is more →
This photo of the White House family kitchen is from 1992…but if you jump onto this White House Museum page, you can see the kitchen when it was first installed in the private family quarters area by and for Jackie Kennedy. And glory be, it sure looks like her cabinets were Geneva’s. Heck yeah there is more →
Kitchen accessories from the trade catalogue “243 New Ideas for Your Kitchen", ca. 1955. Kalamazoo Stoves and Furnaces, Kalamazoo, Mich., publisher. Promised gift to Historic New England from a private collection. Used on this site with permission.
ACCORDING TO AMERICA’S KITCHENS, many of the things we take for granted today in our kitchens were introduced or became widely available in the 20th century, driven by emerging technologies, consumer demand, and commercial marketing that influenced people to update frequently and to buy the latest gadgets. Heck yeah there is more →
A view of the Gropius House kitchen. Courtesy Historic New England. Used on this site with their permission.
THE AMERICA’S KITCHENS EXHIBITION profiles the sleek, black and white kitchen and pantry designed by Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius for his 1938 Massachusetts home. According to curator and co-author Nancy Carlisle, the adjoining galley spaces are “models of efficiency” that function almost as “laboratories.” They contained the latest appliances, including a General Electric dishwasher and garbage disposal. The kitchen and pantry, in the rear of the house, worked well when the family employed a cook. But when Mrs. Gropius took over the meal preparation, she found it difficult to interact with family members or guests. Consequently, Mr. Gropius would often spend time with his wife there, assisting by loading the dishwasher or simply sitting and chatting while she worked.
Erica Donnis is an independent historian and museum consultant based in Burlington, Vermont. This is her third vignette taking a look at America’s Kitchens – both the book and the traveling national exhibit. Find out more about the Gropius House, which is now owned by Historic New England, here.
