Rutherford B. Hayes Memorial photograph

This 5" by 7" (12.7 by 17.8 cm) photograph depicts the Rutherford B. Hayes Library. The gates visible in this image were originally used at the White House during Hayes' presidency. There are six stone gateways with iron gates used as entry points at Spiegel Grove; they are collectively known as the White House Gates. These gates were originally erected in Washington circa1870 as the West Executive Avenue gates. The West Executive Avenue gates appear to have been constructed between 1869-1888. When erected they stretched across West Executive Ave. between the White House and the State, War, and Navy Building (constructed 1871-1888, now the Old Executive Office Building). A second set of gates existed across East Executive Ave. next to the Treasury Building (constructed 1836-1869). The gates controlled access onto West and East Executive avenues from Pennsylvania Avenue. When automobiles replaced carriages, the gates became a safety concern as they were situated in the middle of Executive Avenue. Upon hearing in 1921 that the gates were to be removed from the White House due to safety concerns, Colonel Webb Hayes contacted Washington politicians to have the iron gates transferred to Spiegel Grove. The largest center gate, 11 feet high and 14 ft. 9 in. wide, was to be hung on new split boulder posts at the Memorial Gateway in front of the Library. In 1928 congress authorized the donation of iron gates to be placed at Spiegel Grove. The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center contains the residence of Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States, a library and museum, and the tomb of the president and his wife Lucy Webb Hayes. The library and museum building houses the personal papers and mementos of the Hayes family, the Civil War, and the White House.