Flag Flying at the Whitehouse
Visitors to Washington, D.C. will notice that our flag is flown 24 hours a day. Since Presidential Proclamation No. 4000 was approved on September 4, 1970, the flag has been flown continuously at the White House.
It is customary to fly the flag from dawn to dusk, but the flag may be repectfully flown 24 hours a day when properly lit. Lighting shows reverence to the flag and all it represents as an American symbol.
On May 5, 1972, Richard Nixon enacted Presidential Proclamation No. 4131 which addressed flying the flag at night at U.S. Customs ports of entry:
“The flag of the United States should be one of the first things seen at our Customs ports of entry, both by American citizens returning from abroad and by travelers from other countries. As the symbol of our country and our freedoms, the national colors of the United States provide a welcome greeting of warm promise.
Many people, however, enter our country at night when the flag is not flown, because of the nearly universal custom of displaying it only from sunrise to sunset. I believe it is appropriate that returning citizens and visitors from other countries be welcomed by our flag whether they arrive at their ports of entry by day or night.”