5/15/72 Blue Room Opening [1 of 3]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FRIDAY, MAY 12, 1972 THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Staff Director to Mrs. Nixon Mrs. Nixon will officially open the Blue Room of the White House for a press preview on Monday, May 15, 1972, at 2:30 p.m. The Blue Room, the last of the rooms on the State Floor to be completely redecorated and refurbished, was closed to the public on February 23 of this year. The Red Room was reopened on November 8, 1971, and the Green Room on December 14, 1971. With Mrs. Nixon at the opening of the Blue Room will be Mrs. Joseph Neff, the sister of Ambassador Walter Annenberg who sponsored: the Blue Room. At the same time, Mrs. Nixon will thank the sponsors of the other major rooms in the White House. In addition to Mrs. Neff, they are: Mr. and Mrs. John Murchison, Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Meadows and other Texas friends -- the Red Room; Mr. and Mrs. Richard P. Mellon, representatives of the Richard K. Mellon Foundation -- the Green Room; Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Segel -- the Yellow Oval Room; Mrs. Thurmond Clark -- the Vermeil Room; Dr. Jack Neff, President of the National Historical Foundation - - the Map Room; Warren Arnett, President of the National Society of Interior Designers -- the Diplomatic Reception Room; and the Charles E. Merrill Trust -- the Second Floor Corridor. Also present at the press preview will be: Mr. Clement Conger, Curator of the White House; Mr. Edward Vason Jones, Consulting Architect to the Committee for the Pre- servation of the White House; Mr. David Byers, Creator of the Fabrics and Draperies; Miss Mary Dunn, Consultant on the Blue Room; Mr. Hillory A. Tolson, Executive Director of the White House Historical Association and Mr. Rex Scouten, White House Chief Usher and a member of the Committee for the Preservation of the White House. At 6:00 p.m. on Monday evening, President and Mrs. Nixon will entertain at a reception in honor of the sponsors, donors and lenders to the White House collection; the Trustees of Libraries, museums, foundations, universities and historical societies which have given or lent furnishings and paintings to the White House; members of the Committee for the Preservation of the White House and the White House Historical Association. Approximately 800 guests are expected to attend the 6 8 reception. President and Mrs. Nixon will receive their guests in the Blue Room. All the rooms on the Ground Floor and State Rooms will be open. In addition, the guests will be able to go to the second floor of the residence and see the Second Floor State Rooms: the Queen's Bedroom and Sitting Room; the Lincoln Bedroom and Sitting Room, the reaty Room; the Second Floor Hall and the Yellow Oval Room. #####