Remembering Park View’s Gene Allen (1919-2010)
Eugene Allan -- White House butler to seven presidents
On March 31, 2010, Park View not only lost one of its older residents, but also a significant link to history.
While the Washington Post covered the services of Allen last Friday, it was their feature of him on November 7, 2008, and there chronicle of the incredible life he led, that will be remembered by most.
I’m told by a former neighbor of his that Allen and his wife, Helene, moved onto the 700 block of Otis Place in 1947, paying $12,000 for their home. In 1952 Allen started a job at the White House as a pantry man, was promoted to butler, and finally promoted to maitre d’ in 1980 before retiring in 1986. All in all, Allen was there through the presidencies of Harry S. Truman through Ronald Reagan and behind the doors during some of the epochal events of their terms.
You can read the Post’s 2008 article on Allen here>> or watch a brief slide show with commentary at the link below.
Tags: history and culture, Park View
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Park View, D.C. 
June 16, 2011 at 8:03 am
[…] At the intersection of Georgia and Otis Place: possible subjects could be the American Security & Trust Company, York Haberdasher, and White House butler Eugene Allen. […]
October 23, 2012 at 7:04 am
[…] describes what it took to make the film “The Butler“, a film about Park View resident Eugene Allen set to be released in 2013. Allen worked at the white house from 1952 to 1986 starting as a pantry […]