Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 60 › Conversation 060-004

White House tour group on Cabinet Room and White House tours

Thursday, June 10, 1971 · 12:21 PM–11:59 PM ET · Cabinet Room · 7 min

ParticipantsWhite House tour groupConversation060-004 on Tape 60StartThursday, June 10, 1971 at 12:21 PMEndThursday, June 10, 1971 at 11:59 PMRecording deviceCabinet RoomSourceNixon Library record for 060-004 ↗

AI Summary

A White House tour group explored the Cabinet Room, where they discussed the room's architectural history, including the lowered ceiling and the evolution of the table's size. Participants exchanged anecdotes regarding previous administrations, such as those of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower, and identified the specific seating assignments for various cabinet officials. The informal session concluded with observations about the room's furnishings and a brief mention of ongoing construction on the White House swimming pool.

Audio

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part B, 1:39:25

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NARA Description

On June 10, 1971, a White House tour group met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:21 pm and 11:59 pm. The Cabinet Room taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 060-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 60-4

Date: June 10, 1971
Time: Unknown between 12:21 pm and 11:59 pm
Location: Cabinet Room

Unknown people [tour group] met

     History of Cabinet Room
          -Franklin D. Roosevelt
          -Ceiling
          -Smoking
          -[Thomas] Woodrow Wilson
          -Dwight D. Eisenhower
          -Seating
                -The Vice President
                -John B. Connally
                -John A. Volpe
          -Chairs
                -Removal
                -Secretary of Labor
                -Connally

The unknown people [tour group] left at an unknown time before 11:59 pm

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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This is new.
Last time, the table was here.
It was here when I had Jesse Jones and Franklin Roosevelt.
Correct.
It was smaller, and it was squarer than the work as well as the size of the room.
Much smaller.
And then I got something.
This carpet's working.
Anyway, this is the room with the ceiling that lowered a little, lighting the ceiling.
That's my cellar over here.
This is the center of the home.
jo jo jo jo jo jo
But I think it looks nice on us.
Each president gets a picture of you on it.
It rolls it out real soon.
How do you do that?
Det er alveg det som er bestående for oss.
Det er det som er viktigast.
Frank, our manager, said that the swimming pool is still under construction.
Now then, what's the deal?
It can't be used.
Oh, no.
It's got to go into their offices down there.
They had it.
Well, you know, it's built by the Japanese.
Right.
And so, and then Kennedy and some of the girls came out on the wall.
And they were going to insert two of them on the side of the chair, so some of the teachers couldn't hold that chair anymore.
They can't.
Two of them bring the particular stuff in there.
I would have not said that.
We can't represent which president he thinks most of them.
Yeah, it's true.
I think it's one of them.
I don't think so.
We have four.
Do you have any other ones?
One would take a break.
Well, what I'm sure it takes a lot of energy to move your wheels.
Mr. Jones, I always work on this.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
I was just standing there on the flat.
And Ms. Eisen would sit there.
And said, yes, you can sit down here.
Yeah.
And then John Connery would sit here.
Yes.
But, I mean, you have to be like, see these people are, I think John Wolfson said the rest are, you know, basically boys.
I mean, it's just being passionate.
Captain Oster leaves, he can pick his chair away.
I think he has to pay for it.
It's kind of his souvenir there.
A couple of like, I think, you're probably about to switch chairs, so that, does it matter?
I heard you told us you were a secretary of labor in the lecture.
Oh, because you might have done something like that.
Well, I just had a casual chair, yeah, for a lecture, probably never.
You just have a title.
New Jersey, thanks
Yes, I'm going to go over there in a minute.
Yes, yes, yes.
Yes, yes, yes.
That's great.

Also recorded on June 10, 1971

  • 060-003 11:01 AM · 1 hr 20 min — President Richard M. Nixon and railroad executives, including Benjamin F. Biaggini, Tom Rice, Jack Fishwick, Graham Claytor, William H. Moore, Hays Watkins, William Johnson, Frank Barnette, Louis Menk, John Reed, Stephen Ailes, John A. Volpe, Egil ("Bud") Krogh, Jr., Charles Clapp, George Crawford, and Peter M. Flanigan, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 11:01 am and 11:59 pm.
  • 516-004 12:21 PM · 51 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Peter M. Flanigan met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:21 pm to 12:23 pm.
  • 516-005 12:26 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Horace Hampton, Egil ("Bud") Krogh, Jr., and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:26 pm to 12:29 pm.
  • 516-006 12:29 PM · 27 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, Stephen B. Bull, Everett D. Collier, Philip G. Warner, Herbert G. Klein, White House photographer, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:29 pm to 12:56 pm.
  • 516-007 12:56 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:56 pm.
  • 516-008 1:00 PM · 24 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:00 pm to 1:34 pm.
  • 516-014 1:34 PM · 54 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:34 pm to 1:35 pm.
  • 516-009 1:35 PM · 34 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Rose Mary Woods, Charles W. Colson, White House operator, and Hubert H. Humphrey met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:35 pm and 3:06 pm.

All 24 conversations from June 10, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 060-004, June 10, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/060-004 (accessed November 1, 2026).