Probably the most well-known photo of Camp David is the one below with young David Eisenhower standing in front of the Camp David sign. His grandfather, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, renamed the Shangri-La presidential retreat to "Camp David" in honor of him.
David Eisenhower standing in front of the Camp David sign
The Camp David sign has become a symbol of the Presidential Retreat and appears in various locations around the camp.
Camp David hosts many visitors throughout the year. For security purposes, guests are not allowed to take photos. However, official photos taken next to the famous sign are permitted.
In 2008, First Lady Laura Bush led a tour of Camp David for the presidential library directors, the Archivist of the United States, and staff from the Office of Presidential Libraries. One of the tour participants wrote about this experience on her blog.
Laura Bush poses with directors of the Presidential Libraries Wednesday, June 4, 2008, during their visit to Camp David
President Bush and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in April 2008
The Camp David sign was originally located at the entrance to Camp David, but is now inside the retreat. There are multiple signs located throughout the camp. The sign above with Bush and Lee is located near the helicopter landing area. There is also a sign near the Hickory Lodge. The sign has lights installed under the roof and is illuminated at night.
Lights installed on the Camp David sign illuminate it at night
The original entrance sign read Shangri-La, which was the name of the retreat prior to the Eisenhower Administration. The sign on the right is from 1972. This 2003 blog post has a more recent photo of the entrance to Camp David where the sign there reads simply "Camp #3".
President Eisenhower departs the White House on July 12, 1957 on a 2-passenger Bell H-13J helicopter
President Eisenhower was the first president to travel to Camp David via helicopter. With the dawn of the nuclear age, it became necessary for the President to have a faster means of evacuation in the event the Soviets decided to bomb the White House. In July of 1957, Ike rode a Bell H-13J helicopter to Camp David for part of the "Operation Alert" civil defense exercise. The helicopter reduced the two-hour travel time from Washington to only thirty minutes. Watch the video newsreel of President Eisenhower in his helicopter during "Operation Alert".
According to this 1957 newspaper article, President Eisenhower rode with James Rowley, head of the Secret Service to a "mountaintop secret relocation center". The Smithsonian AirSpace blog identifies this secret relocation center as the command post at Camp David.
I previously wrote another post about the underground bomb shelter that serves as the Camp David command post.
President Eisenhower preparing to depart the White House and his arrival at Camp David
President Nixon at Camp David / White House badge from the 1960s
It was 1969. The U.S. was fighting a war in Vietnam and was involved in a Cold War with the Soviet Union. The military wanted to test Presidential security to see if improvements were needed. The Air Force Chief of Staff gave the order to a team of forty men from the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) to plot a simulated assassination of the President.
The Air Force hit team chose Camp David as one of their targets. Security was tight whenever President Nixon was at the camp, so they planned their entry when they knew he wasn't going to be there. They created a fake White House ID based on one they saw left hanging on a coat hook by a careless White House staffer at a restaurant in DC.
They called the Camp David security office and told them to expect a White House aide who needed a tour of the retreat. The fake aide arrived in a limo; showed his pass and was let inside the gates. He was given a tour of the Aspen Lodge, the President's cabin at Camp David. When no one was looking, he made his move. He replaced a toilet paper roll in the Aspen bathroom with one that would release faux-poisonous gas when pulled.
In a second attack scenario at Camp David, the Air Force team drove to the public area of Catoctin Mountain Park and hiked through the woods armed with grenade launchers and duct tape. They climbed a 40-foot tree and positioned the grenade launchers toward the Presidential helipad.
The Air Force reviewed the results of this assignment and made the necessary security recommendations.
For more information about this mission, read the full article in the Orange County Register.
All of the major search providers - Google, Bing, and Yahoo - have map applications that allow you to view satellite images of any location in the world. Google Maps has a separate program that you can install called Google Earth, which has some additional features. My favorite feature of Google Earth is the Historical Imagery, which allows you to travel back in time to see how places have changed over the years.
Using Google Earth to See How Camp David Has Changed Over Time
I viewed all of the available historical maps of Camp David and found two areas within the Presidential Retreat that have undergone changes that are visible from Google Earth. The most obvious change I discovered is in the general area of the Skeet Range. This area also contains the landing zone for the Presidential helicopter Marine One.
Here is the first map from 1988. The skeet range, field house and helicopter pad are in the lower left corner.
Camp David map - April 4, 1988 (Click on photo to enlarge)
Here is the same view almost 20 years later. Notice the additional buildings and parking lot to the right of the field house. You can also see where an additional sand trap was added to the Aspen Lodge golf practice area on the far right of the map. This 2007 version is the one that is currently live on Google Maps.
Camp David map - February 28, 2007
Here is the same view only two years later. The field house has disappeared and a new structure has been built in the field area. I found a recent solicitation on a federal procurement website for equipment to be installed in a "new hangar" with a 38 foot ceiling at Camp David . So, maybe they built the new hangar there.
Camp David map - May 29, 2009
Updated 3/18/2012: I occasionally check the online maps to see if any satellite imagery has changed. I found the satellite view below from Bing Maps. You can see the building near the skeet range that appeared in the 2009 Google map has disappeared and what is most likely the new hangar has been built in the area that was under construction in 2009.
Bing Maps satellite view of Camp David skeet range and helicopter hangar
The other area where I noticed a change is where the staff pool and rec center is located.
Outdoor pool in the staff area of the camp - February 28, 2007
Here is the same area two year later in 2009. The resolution of the map is lower but you can make out what appears to be a new structure to the right of the pool. Of course, it could also just be a shadow. Hence the problem with comparing hi-res images with low-res ones!
Outdoor pool - May 29, 2009
Updated 3/18/2012: I found this satellite image of the pool on Bing Maps. It looks like they may have put a roof or some sort of enclosure over the pool. Although given the image was obviously taken during the Fall, it might also just be a seasonal cover.
Staff pool - Bing Maps
The buildings in the maps above are all located inside the perimeter fence of Camp David. I also found an interesting area located just outside the back gate at Camp David and wrote about it in another post.
Camp David barracks, staff pool, and rec center (Bing Maps)
Aerial view of Camp David on Bing Maps
View Camp David on Google Maps
I found the Presidential Retreat by searching for "Camp David Maryland" on Google Maps. The map below is linked to Google Maps and you can zoom in or pan to see other parts of the retreat. The map data is from 2007. You can also view the Bing Maps version by visiting my Maps page.
You may not be able to visit Camp David, but if you happen to be in the Thurmont Maryland area, you can visit the next best thing: The Camp David museum at the Cozy Restaurant and Country Inn. The museum contains Camp David photos and artifacts from the Hoover administration on up given to them by members of the media, White House staff, and Camp David visitors. There is even a gift shop that features Camp David clothing items and accessories.
Click on the above photo to access the Camp David museum video page
The Frederick News-Post published a story in 2009 reporting that the museum was being updated to include numerous photos from the time when President George W. Bush was in office.
President and Mrs. Ford attend an Easter Service in Thurmont, MD in 1976
A quick search of the Google News Archive found a number of Camp David Easter visits over the years. President Johnson went to Camp David over Easter weekend in 1967 with the First Lady and daughter Lynda . They attended a church service at a nearby Episcopal church. The White House reported that Mrs. Johnson wore a mimosa yellow silken wool coat with a yellow dress.
Former First Lady Mamie Eisenhower joined the Nixons for an Easter celebration at Camp David in 1971. They attended a service at the nearby Thurmont United Methodist Church. It was reported that Mrs. Nixon and Mrs. Eisenhower wore lavender outfits and Nixon daughters Julie and Tricia wore blue. After the service, the group returned to Camp David for an Easter dinner.
The Nixons also returned to Camp David for Easter the following year. The weekend included a party on Saturday night in the Aspen Lodge to celebrate David Eisenhower's 24th birthday. In 1973, President Nixon gave his aides John Ehrlichman and Bob Haldeman the use of Camp David over Easter Weekend while he went to Florida instead.
The Clintons attend the Easter Service - April 16, 1995
President Ford and First Lady Betty attended an Easter service in 1976 at the Episcopal Harriet Chapel in Thurmont. The weekend's Camp David activities also included swimming in the outdoor pool, tennis, and watching the new Hitchcock movie "The Family Plot".
In 1978, an ice storm forced President Carter to cancel his plans to attend a sunrise service at nearby Fort Ritchie. The army chaplain there braved the icy roads to perform the Easter service at Camp David instead under lights powered by an emergency generator.
President Bush and First Lady Barbara celebrated Easter at Camp David with some of their children and grandchildren in 1989. They attended an Easter service on Sunday morning followed by an Easter Egg Hunt for the grandchildren. The menu for their Easter dinner included roast turkey, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, green beans, cranberry sauce and blueberry and pecan pies. First Dog Millie and her six newborn puppies also came along for the weekend.
The Clintons spent their first Easter at Camp David in 1993. They attended mass at the Evergreen Chapel and then shared an Easter dinner with family and friends. They also went to Camp David at Easter in 1995 and 1998.
President George W. Bush usually spent Easter at his ranch in Texas except in 2006 and 2008 when he celebrated Easter at Camp David. Below are photos from the 2006 Easter service at the Evergreen Chapel and the Easter lunch menu.
President Roosevelt took Winston Churchill fishing during a weekend at Shangri-La in 1943. Churchill described the outing with President Roosevelt in his War Memoirs:
"On Sunday the President wanted to fish in a stream which flowed through lovely woods. He was placed with great care by the side of a pool, and sought to entice the nimble and wily fish. I tried for some time myself at other spots. No fish were caught, but he seemed to enjoy it very much, and was in great spirits for the rest of the day."
Although the FDR Library indicated in their caption that the photo at left was taken at Shangri-La, it was actually taken at nearby Hunting Creek.
"a mountain stream that crossed the road to Shangi-La about two miles west of the camp entrance. The six-mile stretch of the stream between its source near Foxville and the Thurmont municipal dam had been heavily stocked with brook trout and set aside for fly fishing."
Heading off to go fishing - 1960
President Eisenhower went fishing on several occasions while he was at Camp David. This 1953 newspaper article describes a Fourth of July weekend at Camp David where he caught four trout when he went fishing "near his cabin headquarters".
This 1958 article reported on a weekend Camp David trip where he got in two hours of fishing and caught five trout.
President Carter - August 12, 1980
The UPI caption for this photo of President Carter states that President Carter is fishing in a stream near Camp David on August 12, 1980. The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library website has a comprehensive list of every trip that President Carter took that included fishing. On August 12, 1980, it listed Camp Peniel as the location. The Maryland DNR site references a parking lot near the Camp Peniel bridge which provides access to fishing in Big Hunting Creek.
In his autobiography Sharing Good Times, President Carter wrote about his attempts to get his wife Rosalynn interested in fly fishing:
"Rosalynn later practiced for hours, casting into the swimming pool at Camp David. She had a natural talent and soon developed precise control and proper placement of the fly."
President Carter practicing his technique outside Aspen Lodge - November 1980
Despite the fact that there is no fishing available inside Camp David, the close proximity to nearby Hunting Creek allows our First Anglers to pursue their favorite pastime while visiting the Presidential Retreat.
Google Earth view of Hunting Creek and nearby Camp David
On June 27 1992, Dorothy Bush LeBlond and Bobby Koch exchanged wedding vows during a ceremony held at the Evergreen Chapel at Camp David. It was the first wedding ever performed at the chapel.
The wedding festivities began at 4PM when arriving guests gathered at Laurel Lodge for refreshments while waiting for the ceremony to begin.
The Evergreen Chapel was decorated with peach roses. Music played above in the balcony and the bride came down the aisle escorted by her father President George H.W. Bush. The bride wore a wedding dress designed by Arnold Scaasi with salmon chiffon and lace.
The reception was held behind the Aspen Lodge. Tables were set up for 130 guests on the terraces and around the pool. The White House chefs made a cake and cooked a buffet dinner which included fresh salmon that Senator Ted Stevens sent from Alaska. The Marine Band played country music.
Some White House staff members volunteered on the day of the event. Off-duty White House butlers helped with serving the guests and some staff from the florist shop decorated the chapel and the reception tables.
President Bush goes sledding at Camp David with his daughter Doro in January 1991
Because of the hilly terrain, sledding is a popular winter activity at Camp David.
In 1991, President Bush went tobogganing with Arnold Schwarzenegger at Camp David. Barbara Bush joined in the fun by riding down the hill in a saucer.
When it became clear that the First Lady was headed for a tree, the President's urgent call to "Bail out! Bail out!" went unheeded. Unfortunately, she hit the tree and broke her leg.
President Eisenhower watches his grandchildren sledding down the Aspen Lodge hill - March 1960
Children sledding down the hill behind the Aspen Lodge in 1962
President Carter sledding with daughter Amy and a friend at Camp David in February 1978
Sources: George Bush Library; Jimmy Carter Library; Eisenhower Presidential Library; John F. Kennedy Presidential Library; White House; Barbara Bush: Matriarch of a Dynasty; New York Times
