The White House Ballroom (thread 7), Episode 4: Teddy Roosevelt’s Big-Show Presidency: Why He’d Love a White House Ballroom

Picture Teddy Roosevelt grinning at a massive White House ballroom—he’d adore the spectacle, the bands, the flags, and the sense that America looked every bit the global powerhouse he wanted it to be.

He’d scoff at timid modesty, prefer rugged, heroic grandeur to gaudy excess, and probably want a few battle paintings and taxidermy around the edges. Basically: if the presidency’s going to look impressive, Roosevelt would make sure it was impressively loud.