Bowling alleys, movie theaters, and swimming pools: 17 things first families have added to the White House

Buchanan's niece Harriet Lane acted as White House hostess and first lady during the lifelong bachelor's presidency. The greenhouse burned down in 1867 and was replaced with a larger one made of iron and wood.

The White House conservatories included rose houses, a camellia house, orchid houses, and a palm court for tropical plants.

Theodore Roosevelt removed the conservatories in 1902 to make room for the West Wing and built a small greenhouse that is now the site of the Smithsonian American History Museum.

The tennis court eventually became the site of the White House's outdoor swimming pool, and a different tennis court was built. President George H.W. Bush expanded the tennis court in 1989, and Melania Trump refurbished it in 2020.

The Rose Garden was designed by George E. Burnap and Beatrix Farrand as a formal flower garden, before the space was used for events and press conferences. The garden was organized in rows with a lawn in the center.

Taft originally built a "sleeping porch" while in office as a place to cool off in the summertime. When the third floor of the White House was expanded in 1927, Grace Coolidge dubbed the cozy, sunny room the "Sky Parlor." It was remodeled again in 1952 under Truman, who added a kitchenette.

The Solarium has been used recreationally by many presidents and their families — Eisenhower enjoyed grilling on the Promenade outside, and Lyndon Johnson's teenage daughters Luci and Lynda used it as a hangout.

The pool, built between the White House and the West Wing in the west terrace, was covered up when the press briefing room was built in 1970 during Nixon's presidency.

The theater's decor has changed over the years — it went from green chairs and mustard curtains to white chairs and floral drapes, and then to its current all-red design.

The bowling alley was originally built on the ground floor of the West Wing, which is now the Situation Room. It moved to the Executive Office Building in 1955. Bowling fans Richard and Pat Nixon then had a one-lane bowling alley built under the North Portico in 1969.

In 1995, Bill Clinton had the putting green moved outside the Oval Office, where it remains today.

Ford also added a cabana with changing areas and showers, as well as a tunnel from the cabana to the West Wing ground floor so that he could move between the two without going outside.

The game room, outfitted with pool and ping-pong tables, is located on the third floor of the White House.

Pool tables at the White House date back to John Quincy Adams, and many presidents have made use of them through the years. Abraham Lincoln described himself as a "billiards addict," Eisenhower added four pool tables to Camp David, and Reagan was known for being a talented player.

The court is mostly used by presidents, their staff, and families.

Clinton used to jog around Washington, DC, but his heavy Secret Service protection disrupted traffic. A quarter-mile track along the South Lawn was built for him to use instead, at a cost of $30,000 — although, sometimes he still opted to run along the National Mall, according to reports at the time.

The Music Room provided a soundproof space on the third floor where Bill could practice his saxophone and display music-related memorabilia. It had previously been a sitting room, John Kennedy Jr.'s preschool room, and Jack Ford's bedroom.

Obama often played basketball with members of his staff. He and his body man Reggie Love even helped coach his daughter Sasha's fourth grade basketball team, the Vipers. President-elect Joe Biden's granddaughter Maisy was also a member of the team.

"When the Vipers won the league championships in an 18-16 nail-biter, Reggie and I celebrated like it was the NCAA finals," Obama wrote in his memoir, "A Promised Land."

The 2,800-square-foot garden grows a variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs, and provides around 2,000 pounds of food for the White House each year. Melania Trump has continued tending to the vegetable garden and inviting local schoolchildren to help harvest its food.

The design for the pavilion was inspired by the East and West Wings of the White House, with a colonnade, parapet wall, and fanlight windows.

"I am pleased to announce the completion of the Tennis Pavilion on the White House grounds. Thank you to all of the talented craftsmen who made this project possible and to the generous supporters of the White House," Trump said in a statement released by the White House on December 7. "It is my hope that this private space will function as both a place of leisure and gathering for future First Families."

• Read more:
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• What the childhood homes of 32 US presidents looked like