How Camp David Has Changed Through the Years: Photos

The name “Shangri-La” was the name of a fictional kingdom in the book “The Lost Horizon” by James Hilton.

The retreat center was originally built in 1938 as a summer camp for use by government employees as part of The New Deal’s Works Progress Administration, so it wasn’t equipped for chilly weather.

David Eisenhower was 5 years old when his grandfather named the presidential retreat after him.

Today, David Eisenhower works as the director of the Institute for Public Service and a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication.

Aspen has four bedrooms, a kitchen, an office, and a patio.

The helicopter flight from the White House to Camp David takes around 30 minutes, according to Eisenhower’s presidential library.

There is also a second pool further out on the grounds.

Camp David measures 180 acres and includes miles of walking trails through the Catoctin Mountains.

President Jimmy Carter convened Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David in 1978, where the leaders negotiated a peace treaty between the two countries.

Plaid and wicker furniture were popular decor trends in the 1970s.

FDR was the first US president to deliver fireside chats over the radio in 1933.

Reagan brought them back in 1982, and every president since has continued the tradition except for President Donald Trump, who stopped recording weekly addresses about two years into his first term.

President Joe Biden revived them briefly in 2021, with a new format in which he spoke with Americans from the Oval Office and answered their questions and concerns.

Reagan held a groundbreaking ceremony for the chapel at Camp David in 1988, and George H.W. Bush dedicated the space during his presidency in 1991.

George H.W. Bush revisited the chapel to celebrate Easter in 2006 during the presidency of his son, President George W. Bush.

President George W. Bush had a placard made for his golf cart labeling it “Golf Cart One,” a reference to Air Force One. He drove it during visits to Camp David in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Leaders from the UK, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, and France joined Obama at Camp David in 2012 to discuss the European debt crisis.

Camp David also has a bowling alley and a movie theater.

Trump described Camp David as “very rustic” and told reporters in 2017 that they would tire of it after 30 minutes.

He spent more time at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, which became known as his “winter White House.”

The wicker dining set and plaid couches were replaced with sleeker leather chairs and recessed lighting.

Trump met with his foreign policy team at Camp David in June to discuss brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran, Axios reported.