Memorandum from Howell Crim to President Harry S. Truman, with Attachment
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OCR Page 1 of 4THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
October 29, 1948
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT:
Tuesday morning, October twenty-sixth, the men cleaning
the East Room floor observed a considerable amount of fallen plaster
on the floor at the northwest corner of the room.
I
examined the ceiling and found that a crack had developed
along the center of one of the large ornamental mouldings for about a
distance of twelve (12) feet. See Photos Nos. 1, 1-A, and 1-B attached.
Immediate preparations were made to temporarily support the
cracked portion of the ceiling at the center of the cracked moulding.
At noon we supported this section by erecting our portable metal staging
and wedging a wood support against the ceiling. See Photos Nos. 1-A
and 1-B attached.
When this was done we had a section of the Northeast Bedroom
floor removed in order to observe the cause of the damage. See Photos
Nos. 2, 2-A, and 2-B attached.
Our observations disclosed an amazing situation in the total
inadequacy of the structural supports in the ceiling. The ceiling
construction consists of hardware cloth nailed to 1" by 1/11 strips of
wood which are vertically nailed to the ceiling joists with one (1)
cut nail about 12" to 22" on centers. In the area of the cracked
ceiling measurements indicate the ceiling to have dropped about six
(6) inches. It is quite apparent that part of this section of ceiling
has been dropped down for a considerable number of years.
On Wednesday immediate preparations were made to erect wooden
staging to support the whole damaged area over the East Room. This
work was hastened, as the cracks in the ceiling were rapidly extending
outward indicating immediate danger of the ceiling falling. This stag-
ing has been completed today. See Photos Nos. 3 and 3-A.
Immediate steps must be taken to thoroughly inspect all of
the ceiling supports from various points in the second floor. This
probably may be done by cutting about six (6) or seven (7) holes in
the bed room floors.
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