The Ballroom Restored.

As it appears today, the ballroom, with reproduced woodwork, installed in 1940. Here, the citizens of Alexandria celebrated and honored George Washington with a Birthnight Ball that he attended in 1798 and 1799. The tradition—started in Alexandria by John Wise in 1789 and continued by John Gadsby—is celebrated annually at the museum today. The ballroom also witnessed the Inaugural Banquet of Thomas Jefferson in 1801 and Alexandria’s welcoming of the Marquis de Lafayette in 1824.
   Renowned restoration architect Thomas Tileston Waterman visited the Metropolitan Museum in 1938 to conduct detailed measurements of the ballroom's original woodwork for reproducing it. The original Prussian blue color was found during paint analysis of one remaining original window. Note also the unique hanging musicians gallery to the right.