April 25, 1947: President Truman inaugurated the White House bowling alley. Truman, who said he hadn't bowled since he was 19, rarely used it (preferring to play poker, often with reporters), but White House staffers formed a bowling league. The two-lane alley (paid for by friends from Truman's home state of Missouri) was in the West Wing. Dwight Eisenhower replaced it with a mimeograph room in 1955. Another alley was built next door in the Old Executive Office Building. President Nixon had an additional one-lane bowling alley installed directly under the North Portico of the White House.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Amazon's 'James Bond' deal could mean a new future for 007In the Spotlight The franchise was previously owned by the Broccoli family
-
Why are Republicans suddenly panicking about DOGE?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As Trump and Musk take a chainsaw to the federal government, a growing number of Republicans worry that the massive cuts are hitting a little too close to home
-
What is JD Vance's Net Worth?In Depth The vice president is rich, but not nearly as wealthy as his boss and many of his boss' appointees
