From the vault: Camp David, Maryland’s presidential retreat
President Donald J. Trump made his first trip to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, this weekend, along with his family. Here, a look back at the humble government-owned outpost that has provided a quiet place of privacy for presidents, and at times world leaders, since FDR.
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- According to David Eisenhower’s book “The President is at Camp David,” Franklin Roosevelt sent Winston Churchill several photographs, including the one above, and included a letter apologizing that the pictures “did not turn out very well, but at least it proves that you and I tried to catch a fish. Better luck next time.” Courtesy Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
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- Helicopter lands at Catoctin Recreational Area in Thurmont, Maryland, home to Camp David, the presidential retreat. Photo dated April 19, 1959 (Baltimore Sun archives)
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- Fence at Catoctin Recreational Area in Thurmont, Maryland, home to Camp David, the presidential retreat. Photo dated April 19, 1959 (Baltimore Sun archives)
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- Children at Camp David, Catoctin. Photo dated August 21, 1947. (Baltimore Sun archives)
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- A file picture dated 22 April 1961 shows US President John F. Kennedy greet former President General Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) at Camp David, Maryland, USA. They met in the aftermath of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. (EPA/ROBERT KNUDSEN / Office of the Naval Aide to the President)
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- This Sept, 6, 1978 photo provided by the White House shows the principals in the Middle East Summit, from left, Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat, President Jimmy Carter, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, meeting for the first time at Camp David, Md. (White House via AP)
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- Undated photo of George Bush and Ronald Reagan horseback riding at Camp David. (Baltimore Sun archives)
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- Photo of interior of Camp David taken during visit by Elaine Chao, currently the United States Secretary of Transportation, circa 1992. (Photo by Shawn T. Moore via the US National Archives)
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- Photo of interior of Camp David taken during visit by Elaine Chao, currently the United States Secretary of Transportation, circa 1992. (Photo by Shawn T. Moore via the US National Archives)
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- Photo of interior of Camp David taken during visit by Elaine Chao, currently the United States Secretary of Transportation, circa 1992. (Photo by Shawn T. Moore via the US National Archives)
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- President Clinton meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, left, at Camp David, Md., Monday, July 17, 2000. With the clock ticking down and the pace picking up, Clinton renews his determination to conclude a settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians by Wednesday morning, his scheduled departure for an economic summit meeting in Japan. Israeli Gen. Danny Yatom is at center. (AP Photo/William Vasta, White House)
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- President Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, left, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, right, walk on the grounds of Camp David, Md., in this July 11, 2000, file photo at the start of the Mideast summit. Named Shangri-La by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1942, the secluded mountain sanctuary 60 miles north of Washington has been far more than just a presidential retreat. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds/File)
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- A deer grazes in Camp David, Md. in this July 8, 2000 file photo. While thousands of tourists were at the White House, President Bush went to Camp David, the only place where he could still drive, run with his two dogs and relax in privacy. (AP Photo/Scott Applewhite, File)
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- 2012 photo of Thurmont, Maryland. The town of less than 6,200 residents sits just off Route 15 in Frederick County, a main thoroughfare for traffic in and out of Catoctin Mountain Park, the location of Camp David. (Kevin Rector/Baltimore Sun)
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- In this May 14, 2015, file photo, President Barack Obama waves to members of the media after meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders and delegations at Camp David, Md. President Donald Trump is picking simple over swanky this weekend. Nearly five months into his presidency, Trump is heading to Camp David, the government-owned retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains, for the first time. A frequent weekend traveler, Trump has so far favored his palatial residences in Florida and New Jersey over the wooded hideaway used by many presidents for a break from Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
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- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, French President Francois Hollande, U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pose for a family photo during the 2012 G8 Summit at Camp David May 19, 2012 in Camp David, Maryland. (Photo by Luke Sharrett/ The New York Times-Pool/Getty Images)
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- U.S. President Donald J. Trump boards Marine One with first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump, as they depart the White House for Camp David, June 17, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Molly Riley -Pool/Getty Images )
As John Fritze reported in The Baltimore Sun:
Just before taking office, Trump — a former Manhattan real estate magnate — indicated he wasn’t enamored with the idea of time spent in the woods.
“Yea, Camp David is very rustic, it’s nice, you’d like it,” he quipped to European reporters. “You know how long you’d like it? For about 30 minutes.”
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