It was during the early 1900s that the White family opened their home to help alleviate the local lodging shortage: from 1912 to the late twenties, the 'White House Hotel' catered to the first automobile traffic over Donner Pass Summit, which included many notable early Lake Tahoe residents and preservationists; for instance D. L. Bliss, his and numerous signatures of other wealthy and famous can be found in the original White House Hotel Register, beginning July 1912. After the late 1920s, the home returned to use as a single family residence. It eventually suffered a period of vacancy and deterioration through the mid 20th century.