How many pieces of Bohemian glass do you think make up one of the chandeliers in the East Room of the White House? How about all three? (1/8)

Image Credit: White House Historical Association

No one knew the exact number of pieces in the chandeliers for sure until Stewart Stevens, a veteran employee of the White House, was tasked with counting each individual piece. His final count was 6,549 pieces of glass in each chandelier, for a total count of 19,647 pieces. (2/8)

First families often use the East Room as an event space, as it is the biggest room in the Executive Mansion. (3/8)

Image Credit: White House Historical Association

The enormous fixtures, made of cut glass and gilded brass, are so tall that they have to be cleaned at two separate levels of scaffolding. (4/8)

Image Credit: Abbie Rowe, National Park Service

While cleaning and counting the individual glass pieces, Stevens noticed the numbers were not adding up. The north and south chandeliers consistently had 6,549 pieces, while the middle chandelier had noticeably fewer. (5/8)

After consulting the usher’s office, Stevens discovered that the missing pieces had been replaced with cameras when President John F. Kennedy’s remains were lying in repose in the East Room, and the pieces hadn’t been replaced since. (6/8)

The missing pieces were found safely stowed in a drawer in the White House electricians’ office and hung back up in their rightful place. (7/8)

In this picture, servicemen stand guard around the casket of President John F. Kennedy in the East Room, with the chandeliers hanging overhead. (8/8)

Image Credit: White House Historical Association