Historically, however, this attic served as an extra bedroom area for relatives and friends, as an extra storage area for linens and furniture, and as an area for mending and sewing.  Before the 1935 expansion of the house, servants used part of the attic and part of the basement for their private living quarters.  After 1935, servants used the third floor of the West Wing as their private living quarters.

The attic contains a sewing room to the north, two bedrooms on the east and west side, a bathroom, a linen closet and a large, unfinished attic.  The maids used the sewing room to repair the guests’ garments.  The Wu sisters, who were seeking political asylum in America from Communist China, stayed in the attic bedrooms during the 1950s. For interpretive purposes, however, Eileen Wu’s bedroom has been moved down to the second floor northwest bedroom, so that the public can see it.