Camp David, from FDR through Obama Pictures President Richard Nixon looks out of a window November 22, 1972 at Camp David, Md. Camp David has been a weekend refuge for presidents since 1942, when Franklin D. Roosevelt decided he needed to stay close to the capital during wartime while still escaping Washington's oppressive summer heat. It has served as a vacation spot, a site for summits, and a political refuge. Credit: National Archive/Newsmakers