Who visited the Presidents House?
There was a regular schedule of weekly entertaining. Washington and Adams held “levees” on Tuesday afternoons. These formal audiences with the President were open to members of Congress and foreign dignitaries, and their guests. State dinners were held on Thursday afternoons, and were by invitation only. Mrs. Washington held “drawingrooms” on Friday evenings, which were less formal and open to anyone wearing proper dress. Descriptions of the food served can be found in the First-Person Accounts section. There were open houses on New Year’s Day and the Fourth of July which were open to all. One Fourth of July, Abigail Adams estimated that a thousand people would attend the open house. Long tables were set up in the yard behind the house, and wine, punch and cake were served. The Third Infantry regiment would stand guard at the front door, and, to signal the end of the reception, it would perform a ceremonial march through the house and into the yard. After drinking several toasts, the v
