Camp David

Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States. It is located in wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park near Thurmont, Maryland, about 62 miles (100 km) north-northwest of Washington, D.C.. It is officially known as the Naval Support Facility Thurmont, because it is technically a military installation, and staffing is primarily provided by the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps.Originally known as Hi-Catoctin, Camp David was built as a camp for federal government agents and their families by the WPA. Construction started in 1935 and was completed in 1938. In 1942, Franklin D. Roosevelt converted it to a presidential retreat and renamed it "Shangri-La" (for the fictional Himalayan paradise in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton, which he had jokingly referenced as the source of the Doolittle Raid earlier that year). Camp David received its present name from Dwight D. Eisenhower, in honor of his father and grandson, both named David.The Catoctin Mountain Park does not indicate the location of Camp David on park maps due to privacy and security concerns, although it can be seen through the use of publically accessible satellite images.