decatur house was the first ivate residence in 1818, stephen decatur moved in, in 1819. and then the building on the north side. ose are the three landmark buildings that have stayed. since then it has become a square for social protests. really starting i would say organized with the suffrages and that cause with the wilson administration. since then there has been a wide variety of social, political and environmental issues that people take advantage of using that symbol to protest what they believe is wrong policy. that has really been around since the 1910's, beginning with the suffrages. host: did you have something to add? lindsay: yes. going back a little built further, one thing i wanted to point out with lafayette square was initially when the white house walking being built, both the enslaved and free work orioles that were building the white house were staying in lafayette square. that was sort of a city of workers and their living quarters, and then their working spaces as well. the neighborhood has changed more drastically. now it is obviously a beautiful pl

we talked with him across from the white house on lafayette square decatur house. the home of the white house historical association published his book. >> are the eggs real eggs? >> sometimes. they use wooden eggs. >> they are collectibles. >> definitely. but there are traditionally some real eggs used. in the past, it was all real eggs. >> and who gets to go? >> anybody can go, but you need to submit your request online in advance, and then a lucky lottery winner get to go over and, the other thing is you need to have a small child with you, otherwise -- you know it's an event for the kids and otherwise you would have a lot of adults like me wanting to go. >> well, your book really details the interesting history. you suggest the very earliest known connection goes back as far as dolly madison. >> there is a long-standing oral history that goes back to the 19th century the dolly madison was involved in the first easter egg roll in washington, d.c. and that was around 1810 on the u.s. capitol grounds. it is said it was her idea. her brainchild. >> do we know where

we talked to him at the decatur house, the home of the white house historical association, which published the book. this is about 30 minutes. >> jonathan pliska, you've worked with the white house historical association to write a young readers book about the white house easter egg roll. before we get into history, tell me about it today. how large is it in 2018? jonathan: it would be larger than it is except the popularity is so high and everybody wants to be a part of this that they generally cap the attendance at 30,000-35,000 people. >> where is it held today? donovan: it is held on the south lawn of the white house. that is what i like to call the president's backyard. >> are the eggs real eggs? jonathan: they are sometimes real eggs. they use wooden eggs. >> they are collectibles. jonathan: definitely. but there are traditionally some real eggs used. in the past, it was all real eggs. >> and who gets to go? jonathan: anybody can go, but you need to submit your request online in advance, and then a lucky lottery winner get to go over and, the other thing is you need to have a small c

we talked with him across from the white house on lafayette square decatur house. the home of the white house historical association published his book.