A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE Red Carpet RED CARPETS THROUGH TIME 1 Agamemnon 2 Renaissance Art 458 BC play by Aeschylus • Red carpets lead to thrones • First mention of red carpet in literature • First associations of red carpets with royalty Red carpet reserved for gods 3 James Madison 4 Railroads • 1821 Arcadia presidential visit • Red carpets used to direct passengers to 20th Century Limited train • Red carpet used for president's...

A red carpet was rolled out to a river to welcome the arrival of United States president James Monroe in 1821. In 1902, the New York Central Railroad began using plush crimson carpets to direct people as they boarded their 20th Century Limited passenger train. This is believed to be the origin of the phrase "red-carpet treatment".