Title: White House
Subject: Pittsburgh/On this day, Sweden–United States relations, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, United States twenty-dollar bill, Steinway & Sons
Collection: Buildings and Structures in the United States Destroyed by Arson, Buildings of the United States Government in Washington, D.C., Federal Architecture in Washington, D.C., Historic House Museums in Washington, D.C., Houses Completed in 1800, Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C., National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C., Neoclassical Architecture in Washington, D.C., Neoclassical Palaces, Palaces in the United States, Presidential Museums in Washington, D.C., Presidential Palaces, Presidential Residences in the United States, Rebuilt Buildings and Structures in the United States, Reportedly Haunted Locations in Washington, D.C., White House
The North Portico - (November 15th 2014)
Location in Washington, D.C.
Neoclassical, Palladian
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW Washington, D.C. 20500 U.S.
Barack Obama, President of the United States and the First Family
Construction started
October 13, 1792 (1792-10-13)
James Hoban
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. It has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800.
The house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban[1] and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia Creek sandstone in the Neoclassical style. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he (with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe) expanded the building outward, creating two colonnades that were meant to conceal stables and storage.[2]
In 1814, during the War of 1812, the mansion was set ablaze by the British Army in the Burning of Washington, destroying the interior and charring much of the exterior. Reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed Executive Residence in October 1817. Construction continued with the addition of the South Portico in 1824 and the North in 1829.
Because of crowding within the executive mansion itself, President Theodore Roosevelt had all work offices relocated to the newly constructed West Wing in 1901. Eight years later, President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and created the first Oval Office which was eventually moved as the section was expanded. The third-floor attic was converted to living quarters in 1927 by augmenting the existing hip roof with long shed dormers. A newly constructed East Wing was used as a reception area for social events; Jefferson's colonnades connected the new wings.
East Wing alterations were completed in 1946, creating additional office space. By 1948, the house's load-bearing exterior walls and internal wood beams were found to be close to failure. Under Harry S. Truman, the interior rooms were completely dismantled and a new internal load-bearing steel frame constructed inside the walls. Once this work was completed, the interior rooms were rebuilt.
Today, the White House Complex includes the Executive Residence, West Wing, East Wing, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building—the former State Department, which now houses offices for the President's staff and the Vice President—and Blair House, a guest residence.
The Executive Residence is made up of six stories—the Ground Floor, State Floor, Second Floor, and Third Floor, as well as a two-story basement. The term White House is often used as a metonym for the Executive Office of the President of the United States and for the president's administration and advisers in general, as in "The White House has decided that....". The property is a National Heritage Site owned by the National Park Service and is part of the President's Park. In 2007, it was ranked second on the American Institute of Architects list of "America's Favorite Architecture".
1789–1800 1.1
Architectural competition 1.2
Design influences 1.3
Construction 1.4
Architectural description 1.5
Naming conventions 1.6
Evolution of the White House 2
Early use, the 1814 fire, and rebuilding 2.1
Overcrowding and building the West Wing 2.2
The Truman reconstruction 2.3
The Kennedy restoration 2.4
The White House since the Kennedy restoration 3
Layout and amenities 3.1
Executive Residence 3.2
West Wing 3.3
East Wing 3.4
Grounds 3.5
Public access and security 4
Following his April 1789 inauguration, President George Washington occupied two executive mansions in New York City: the Samuel Osgood House at 3 Cherry Street (April 1789 – February 1790), and the Alexander Macomb House at 39–41 Broadway (February–August 1790). In May 1790, New York began construction of Government House for his official residence, but he never occupied it. The national capital moved to Philadelphia in December 1790.
The July 1790 Residence Act named Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the temporary national capital for a 10-year period while the Federal City was under construction. The City of Philadelphia rented Robert Morris's city house at 190 High Street (now 524-30 Market Street) for Washington's presidential residence. The first president occupied the Market Street mansion from November 1790 to March 1797, and altered it in ways that may have influenced the design of the White House. As part of a futile effort to have Philadelphia named the permanent national capital, Pennsylvania built a much grander presidential mansion several blocks away, but Washington declined to occupy it.
President John Adams also occupied the Market Street mansion from March 1797 to May 1800. In November 1800, he became the first president to occupy the White House. The President's House in Philadelphia became a hotel and was demolished in 1832, while the unused presidential mansion became home to the University of Pennsylvania.
First Presidential Mansion: Samuel Osgood House, Manhattan, New York. Occupied by Washington: April 1789 - February 1790.
Second Presidential Mansion: Alexander Macomb House, Manhattan, New York. Occupied by Washington: February - August 1790.
Third Presidential Mansion: President's House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Occupied by Washington: November 1790 – March 1797. Occupied by Adams: March 1797 – May 1800.
Government House, New York (1790-91). Built to be the permanent presidential mansion, Congress moved the national capital to Philadelphia before its completion.
House intended for the President, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1790s). Built to be the permanent presidential mansion, neither Washington nor Adams would occupy it.
Architectural competition
Hoban's Charleston County Courthouse, Charleston, South Carolina, 1790–92, was admired by Washington.
A 1793 elevation by James Hoban. His 3-story, 9-bay original submission was altered into this 2-story, 11-bay design.
Drawing of Andrea Palladio - Project for Francesco et Lodovico de Trissini - From the book : I quattro libri dell'architettura - Published in 1570
The North Portico of the White House compared to Leinster House
The Château de Rastignac compared to the South Portico of the White House, ca. 1846
The President's House was a major feature of Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's's plan for the newly established federal city, Washington, D.C.[3][4] The architect of the White House was chosen in a design competition which received nine proposals, including one submitted anonymously by Thomas Jefferson.[5]
President Washington visited Charleston, South Carolina in May 1791 on his "Southern Tour", and saw the under-construction Charleston County Courthouse designed by Irish architect James Hoban. He is reputed to have met with Hoban then. The following year, he summoned the architect to Philadelphia and met with him in June 1792.[6]
On July 16, 1792, the President met with the commissioners of the federal city to make his judgment in the architectural competition. His review is recorded as being brief, and he quickly selected Hoban's submission.[7]
Washington was not entirely pleased with the original submission, however; he found it too small, lacking ornament, and not monumental enough to house the nation's president. On his recommendation, the house was changed from three stories to two, and was widened from a nine-bay facade to an 11-bay facade. Hoban's competition drawings do not survive.
Design influences
The building has classical inspiration sources, that could be found directly or indirectly in the Roman architect Blue Room. These influences, though undocumented, are cited in the official White House guide, and in White House Historical Association publications. The first official White House guide, published in 1962, suggested a link between Hoban's design for the South Portico and Château de Rastignac, a neoclassical country house located in La Bachellerie in the Dordogne region of France and designed by Mathurin Salat. Construction on the French house was initially started before 1789, interrupted by the French Revolution for twenty years and then finally built 1812–1817 (based on Salat's pre-1789 design).[9] The theoretical link between the two houses has been criticized because Hoban did not visit France. Supporters of a connection posit that Thomas Jefferson, during his tour of Bordeaux in 1789, viewed Salat's architectural drawings (which were on-file at the College) at the École Spéciale d'Architecture (Bordeaux Architectural College).[10] On his return to the U.S. he then shared the influence with Washington, Hoban, Monroe, and Benjamin Henry Latrobe.[9]
Construction of the White House began with the laying of the cornerstone on October 13, 1792, although there was no formal ceremony.[11] The main residence, as well as foundations of the house, were built largely by enslaved and free African-American laborers, as well as employed Europeans.[12] Much of the other work on the house was performed by immigrants, many not yet with citizenship. The sandstone walls were erected by Scottish immigrants, employed by Hoban,[13] as were the high-relief rose and garland decorations above the north entrance and the "fish scale" pattern beneath the pediments of the window hoods. The initial construction took place over a period of eight years, at a reported cost of $232,371.83 (equal to $3,229,057 today). Although not yet completed, the White House was ready for occupancy on or circa November 1, 1800.[14]
Shortages, including material and labor, forced alterations to the earlier plan developed by French engineer Pierre Charles L'Enfant for a "palace" that was five times larger than the house that was eventually built.[13] The finished structure contained only two main floors instead of the planned three, and a less costly brick served as a lining for the stone façades. When construction was finished, the porous sandstone walls were whitewashed with a mixture of lime, rice glue, casein, and lead, giving the house its familiar color and name.[13]
As it is a famed structure in America, several replicas of the White House have been constructed.
Architectural description
The principal façade of the White House, the north front, is of three floors and eleven bays. The ground floor is hidden by a raised carriage ramp and parapet, thus the façade appears to be of two floors. The central three bays are behind a prostyle portico (this was a later addition to the house, built circa 1830) serving, thanks to the carriage ramp, as a porte cochere. The windows of the four bays flanking the portico, at first-floor level, have alternating pointed and segmented pediments, while at second-floor level the pediments are flat. The principal entrance at the center of the portico is surmounted by a lunette fanlight. Above the entrance is a sculpted floral festoon. The roofline is hidden by a balustraded parapet.
The mansion's southern façade is a combination of the Palladian and neoclassical styles of architecture. It is of three floors, all visible. The ground floor is rusticated in the Palladian fashion. At the center of the façade is a neoclassical projecting bow of three bays. The bow is flanked by 5 bays, the windows of which, as on the north façade, have alternating segmented and pointed pediments at first-floor level. The bow has a ground floor double staircase leading to an Ionic colonnaded loggia (with the Truman Balcony at second-floor level), known as the south portico. The more modern third floor is hidden by a balustraded parapet and plays no part in the composition of the façade.
The building was originally referred to variously as the "President's Palace", "Presidential Mansion", or "President's House".[15] The earliest evidence of the public calling it the "White House" was recorded in 1811.[16] A myth emerged that during the rebuilding of the structure after the Burning of Washington, white paint was applied to mask the burn damage it had suffered,[17] giving the building its namesake hue.[18] The name "Executive Mansion" was used in official contexts until President Theodore Roosevelt established the formal name by having "White House–Washington" engraved on the stationery in 1901.[19][20] The current letterhead wording and arrangement "The White House" with the word "Washington" centered beneath goes back to the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt.[20]
Although it was not completed until some years after the presidency of George Washington, it is also speculated that the name of the traditional residence of the President of the United States may have derived from Martha Washington's home, White House Plantation in Virginia, where the nation's first President had courted the First Lady in the mid-18th century.[21]
Evolution of the White House
Early use, the 1814 fire, and rebuilding
On Saturday, November 1, 1800, John Adams became the first president to take residence in the building.[13] During Adams' second day in the house, he wrote a letter to his wife Abigail, containing a prayer for the house. Adams wrote:
I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this House, and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.[22]
Franklin D. Roosevelt had Adams's blessing carved into the mantel in the State Dining Room.[22]
Adams lived in the house only briefly before Thomas Jefferson moved into the "pleasant country residence"[23] in 1801. Despite his complaints that the house was too big ("big enough for two emperors, one pope, and the grand lama in the bargain"[24]), Jefferson considered how the White House might be added to. With Benjamin Henry Latrobe, he helped lay out the design for the East and West Colonnades, small wings that help conceal the domestic operations of laundry, a stable and storage.[13] Today, Jefferson's colonnades link the residence with the East and West Wings.[13]
In 1814, during the
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Houses completed in 1800
Buildings of the United States government in Washington, D.C.
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Reportedly haunted locations in Washington, D.C.
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Official government residences in North America
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St. Anns Diplomatic Residence (PM)
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The White House Historical Association, with historical photos, online tours and exhibits, timelines, and facts
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The White House Museum, a detailed online tour of the White House
Detailed 3D computer model of White House and grounds
Video of "White House Holiday Tour with Laura Bush", C-SPAN Dec 3, 2008
14 Video tours of different White House rooms, C-SPAN Dec 1, 2008
Video of "White House Tour", C-SPAN Jul 7, 1998
Abbott, James A. A Frenchman in Camelot: The Decoration of the Kennedy White House by Stéphane Boudin. Boscobel Restoration Inc.: 1995. ISBN 978-0-9646659-0-3.
Abbott James A., and Elaine M. Rice. Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration. Van Nostrand Reinhold: 1998. ISBN 978-0-442-02532-8.
Abbott, James A. Jansen. Acanthus Press: 2006. ISBN 978-0-926494-33-6.
Clinton, Hillary Rodham. An Invitation to the White House: At Home with History. Simon & Schuster: 2000. ISBN 978-0-684-85799-2.
Garrett, Wendell. Our Changing White House. Northeastern University Press: 1995. ISBN 978-1-55553-222-2.
Guidas, John. The White House: Resources for Research at the Library of Congress. Library of Congress, 1992.
Huchet de Quénetain, Christophe.De quelques bronzes dorés français conservés à la Maison-Blanche à Washington D.C.in La Revue, Pierre Bergé & associés, n°6, mars 2005 pp.54–5. OCLC 62701407.
Kenny, Peter M., Frances F. Bretter and Ulrich Leben. Honoré Lannuier Cabinetmaker from Paris: The Life and Work of French Ébiniste in Federal New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and Harry Abrams: 1998. ISBN 978-0-87099-836-2.
Klara, Robert. The Hidden White House: Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America's Most Famous Residence. Thomas Dunne Books: 2013. ISBN 978-1-2500-0027-9.
Kloss, William. Art in the White House: A Nation's Pride. White House Historical Association in cooperation with the National Geographic Society, 1992. ISBN 978-0-8109-3965-3.
Leish, Kenneth. The White House. Newsweek Book Division: 1972. ISBN 978-0-88225-020-5.
McKellar, Kenneth, Douglas W. Orr, Edward Martin, et al. Report of the Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion. Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion, Government Printing Office: 1952.
Monkman, Betty C. The White House: The Historic Furnishing & First Families. Abbeville Press: 2000. ISBN 978-0-7892-0624-4.
New York Life Insurance Company. The Presidents from 1789 to 1908 and the History of the White House. New York Life Insurance Company: 1908.
Penaud, Guy Dictionnaire des châteaux du Périgord. Editions Sud-Ouest: 1996. ISBN 978-2-87901-221-6.
Phillips-Schrock, Patrick. The White House: An Illustrated Architectural History (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2013) 196 pp.
Seale, William. The President's House. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 1986. ISBN 978-0-912308-28-9.
Seale, William, The White House: The History of an American Idea. White House Historical Association: 1992, 2001. ISBN 978-0-912308-85-2.
West, J.B. with Mary Lynn Kotz. Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan: 1973. ISBN 978-0-698-10546-1.
Wolff, Perry. A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy. Doubleday & Company: 1962.
Exhibition Catalogue, Sale 6834: The Estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis April 23–26, 1996. Sothebys, Inc.: 1996.
The White House: An Historic Guide. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. ISBN 978-0-912308-79-1.
The White House. The First Two Hundred Years, ed. by Frank Freidel/William Pencak, Boston 1994.
^ "History of the White House". The White House. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
^ Michael W. Fazio and Patrick A. Snadon (2006). The Domestic Architecture of Benjamin Henry Latrobe. The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 364–366.
^ "Timelines-Architecture" (PDF). White House Historical Association. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
^ L'Enfant identified himself as "Peter Charles L'Enfant" during most of his life, while residing in the United States. He wrote this name on his "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of t(he) United States ...." (Washington, D.C.) and on other legal documents. However, during the early 1900s, a French ambassador to the U.S., United States Code states in 40 U.S.C. § 3309: "(a) In General.—The purposes of this chapter shall be carried out in the District of Columbia as nearly as may be practicable in harmony with the plan of Peter Charles L'Enfant." The National Park Service identifies L'Enfant as "Major Peter Charles L'Enfant" and as "Major Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant" on its website.
^ Frary, Ihna Thayer (1969). They Built the Capitol. Ayer Publishing. p. 27.
^ William Seale, "James Hoban: Builder of the White House" in White House History no. 22 (Spring 2008), pp. 8–12.
^ "Primary Document Activities". White House Historical Association. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
^ "The White House". National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
^ a b Michael Johnson (May 10, 2006). "Our White House in France?". TheColumnists.Com. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
^ Johnson, Michael (September 15, 2006). "A chateau fit for a president". New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
^ Ecker, Grace Dunlop (1933). A Portrait of Old Georgetown. Garrett & Massie, Inc. p. 36.
^ "Time line – African-Americans". White House Historical Association. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "White House Tour Essays: The Overview". White House Historical Association. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
^ "Overview of the White House". White House Museum. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
^ Seale, William (1986). The President's House, A History. Volume I. White House Historical Association. pp. 1, 23.
^ Seale, William (1992). The White House, The History of an American Idea. The American Institute of Architects Press. pp. 35. 1.
^ Unger, Harlow (2009). The Last Founding Father:James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness. New York: Da Capo Press. p. 277.
^ New York Life Insurance Company (1908), entry
^ Seale, William (1986). The President's House, A History. Volume II. White House Historical Association. p. 689.1.
^ a b c "White House Facts". The White House. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
^ K.W. Poore and Associates, Inc.; Earth Design Associates, Inc (2 June 2002). "New Kent County Comprehensive Plan" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-11-07.
^ a b "The State Dining Room". White House Historical Association. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
^ "Jefferson Describes the White House". Original Manuscripts and Primary Sources. Shapell Manuscript Foundation.
^ John Whitcomb, Real Life at the White House: 200 Years of Daily Life at America's Most Famous Residence. Routledge, 2000. ISBN 978-0-415-92320-0. p. 15.
^ a b "The East Room". White House Historical Association. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
^ "Treasure hunt or modern-day pirates?". canada.com. 2006. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
^ Usborne, David (November 27, 2005). "British warship sunk during war with US may hold lost treasures of White House". The Independent (London). Retrieved January 28, 2011.
^ Young, G.F.W. "HMS Fantome and the British Raid on Washington August 1814". Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society Journal 10: 132–145.
^ Haas, Irvin. Historic Homes of the American Presidents. New York: Dover Publishing, 1991, p. 30.
^ a b "Architectural Improvements: 1825–1872". The White House Museum. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
^ Johnson, Michael (15 September 2006). "A chateau fit for a president". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
^ a b c d e Epstein, Ellen Robinson (1971–1972). "The East and West Wings of the White House". Records of the Columbia Historical Society.
^ Khan, Yasmin Sabina (2010). Enlightening the World: The Creation of the Statue of Liberty, p.159–160, Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-4851-5.
^ Reeves, Thomas C. (1975). Gentleman Boss. NY, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 268.
^ Reeves, Thomas C. (1975). Gentleman Boss. NY, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. n473.
^ "The Grand Illumination: Sunset of the Gaslight Age, 1891". The White House Historical Association. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
^ "The Entrance Hall". The White House Museum. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
^ "Theodore Roosevelt Renovation, 1902". The White House Museum. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
^ a b c "Truman Reconstruction: 1948–1952". White House Museum. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
^ Slesin, Suzanne (June 16, 1988). "Fit for Dignitaries, Blair House Reopens Its Stately Doors". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
^ "Mrs. Truman Shows Off White House To News Writers". Palm Beach Post. UP. March 24, 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
^ "Library Art and Furnishings". The White House. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
^ a b c "Kennedy Renovation: 1961–1963". White House Museum. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
^ "Jacqueline Kennedy in the White House". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. p. 3. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
^ "Architecture: 1970s". White House Historical Association. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
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^ "Nixon, Pat". Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
^ "First Lady Biography: Pat Nixon". The National First Ladies Library. 2005. Retrieved 2007-11-08. For the White House itself, and thus for the American people, Pat Nixon also decided to accelerate the collection process of fine antiques as well as historically associative pieces, adding some 600 paintings and antiques to the White House Collection. It was the single greatest collecting during any Administration.
^ "A Press Pool". WhiteHouse.gov.
^ "Ask the White House". The White House. May 9, 2005. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
^ "Technology: 1980s". White House Historical Association. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
^ "Maine college to auction off former White House solar panels". October 28, 2004. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
^ Burdick, Dave (January 27, 2009). "White House Solar Panels: What Ever Happened To Carter's Solar Thermal Water Heater? (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
^ a b "Decorative Arts: 1980s". White House Historical Association. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
^ a b Koncius, Jura (November 12, 2008). "White House makeover". The Californian. Archived from the original on December 6, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
^ "Solar panels installed on White House roof". Fox News. August 15, 2013.
^ White House Finally Gets Solar Panels - ABC News
^ Ted Johnson (2011-07-23). "Now playing at the White House: East Wing holds movie theater for First Family and friends". Variety. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
^ Bumiller, Elizabeth (January 2009). "Inside the Presidency". National Geographic. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
^ "White House Residence First Floor". White House Museum. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
^ "White House Residence Ground Floor". White House Museum. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
^ "White House Residence Second Floor". White House Museum. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
^ "White House Residence Third Floor". White House Museum. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
^ "Debates and Decisions: Life in the Cabinet Room". The White House. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
^ "White House History and Tours". The White House. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
^ a b Mike Allen (July 7, 2007). "White House Press Room to reopen".
^ "White House Big Dig wraps up, but the project remains shrouded in mystery". New York Daily News. Associated Press. 13 September 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
^ Graham Smith (31 January 2012). "It's official! Obama will definitely be out of the Oval Office next year... when it closes for renovation". Daily Mail (London). Retrieved 9 February 2013.
^ "Michelle Obama Goes Organic and Brings in the Bees – Washington Whispers". US News and World REport. March 28, 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
^ "White House security scares". BBC News. February 7, 2001.
^ Joe Johns; Kelli Arena and Kathleen Koch (May 12, 2005). "Intruding pilots released without charges". CNN. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
^ "Public Report of the White House Security Review". Order of the Secretary of the Treasury. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
^ "Statement of Committee of 100 on the Federal City and The National Coalition to Save Our Mall". National Coalition to Save Our Mall, Inc. 2004. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
^ "Visiting the White House". The White House. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
^ Hennessey, Kathleen (March 5, 2013). "White House tours canceled due to federal budget cuts". LA Times. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
^ "White House Tours To Resume In November (With A Catch)". International Business Times. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
^ "Norske våpen vokter presidenten : Gründer Økonomisk Rapport". Grunder. January 31, 2006. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
^ "Norge sikret innsettelsen av Bush – Nyheter". Dagbladet. March 13, 2006. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
List of largest historic houses in the United States
Blair House, official guest house of the President
Curator of the White House
Germantown White House
Reported White House ghosts
List of National Historic Landmarks in the District of Columbia
List of U.S. Presidential residences
Number One Observatory Circle, residence of the Vice President
Rooms in the White House
Western White House
White House Acquisition Trust
White House Chief Calligrapher
White House Chief Floral Designer
White House Christmas tree
White House Communications Agency
White House Endowment Trust
White House Executive Chef
White House Graphics and Calligraphy Office
White House History
White House Social Secretary
For security reasons, the section of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House is closed to all vehicular traffic, except government officials.
White House at night
White House on the reverse (back) of the U.S. $20 note.
NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System) were used to guard air space over Washington, D.C. during the 2005 presidential inauguration. The same NASAMS units have since been used to protect the president and all air space around the White House, which is strictly prohibited to aircraft.[80][81]
The White House Complex is protected by the United States Secret Service and the United States Park Police.
Prior to its inclusion within the fenced compound that now includes the Old Executive Office Building to the west and the Treasury Building to the east, this sidewalk served as a queuing area for the daily public tours of the White House. These tours were suspended in the wake of the September 11 attacks. In September 2003, they resumed on a limited basis for groups making prior arrangements through their Congressional representatives or embassies in Washington for foreign nationals and submitting to background checks, but the White House remained closed to the public.[77] White House tours were suspended for most of 2013 due to budget constraints after sequestration.[78] The White House reopened to the public in November 2013.[79]
The Pennsylvania Avenue closing has been opposed by organized civic groups in Washington, D.C. They argue that the closing impedes traffic flow unnecessarily and is inconsistent with the well-conceived historic plan for the city. As for security considerations, they note that the White House is set much farther back from the street than numerous other sensitive federal buildings are.[76]
On May 20, 1995, primarily as a response to the Oklahoma City bombing of April 19, 1995, the United States Secret Service closed off Pennsylvania Avenue to vehicular traffic in front of the White House from the eastern edge of Lafayette Park to 17th Street. Later, the closure was extended an additional block to the east to 15th Street, and East Executive Avenue, a small street between the White House and the Treasury Building. After the attacks of September 11, 2001 this policy was made permanent in addition to closing E Street between the South Portico of the White House and the Ellipse.[75] During the Boston Marathon Bombings, the road was closed to the public in its entirety for a period of two days.
In 1974, a stolen Army helicopter landed without authorization on the White House grounds. Twenty years later, in 1994, a light plane crashed on the White House grounds, and the pilot died instantly.[73] As a result of increased security regarding air traffic in the capital, the White House was evacuated in 2005 before an unauthorized aircraft could approach the grounds.[74]
The White House remained accessible in other ways; President Abraham Lincoln complained that he was constantly beleaguered by job seekers waiting to ask him for political appointments or other favors, or eccentric dispensers of advice like "General" Daniel Pratt, as he began the business day. Lincoln put up with the annoyance rather than risk alienating some associate or friend of a powerful politician or opinion maker.
Like the English and Irish country houses it was modeled on, the White House was, from the start, open to the public until the early part of the 20th century. President Thomas Jefferson held an open house for his second inaugural in 1805, and many of the people at his swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol followed him home, where he greeted them in the Blue Room. Those open houses sometimes became rowdy: in 1829, President Andrew Jackson had to leave for a hotel when roughly 20,000 citizens celebrated his inauguration inside the White House. His aides ultimately had to lure the mob outside with washtubs filled with a potent cocktail of orange juice and whiskey. Even so, the practice continued until 1885, when newly elected Grover Cleveland arranged for a presidential review of the troops from a grandstand in front of the White House instead of the traditional open house. Jefferson also permitted public tours of his house, which have continued ever since, except during wartime, and began the tradition of annual receptions on New Year's Day and on the Fourth of July. Those receptions ended in the early 1930s, although President Bill Clinton would briefly revive the New Year's Day open house in his first term.
Public access and security
The Cross Hall, connecting the State Dining Room and the East Room on the State Floor.
Marine One prepares for landing on the South Lawn where State Arrival Ceremonies for visiting heads of state take place
Yellow Oval Room in the private, second-floor family residence centered directly above the Blue Room.
The White House and surrounding grounds
Overhead view of the White House grounds
The White House with fountain and grounds.
White House from the north
[72] The White House and grounds cover just over 18 acres (about 7.3 hectares). Before the construction of the North Portico, most public events were entered from the
The East Wing, which contains additional office space, was added to the White House in 1942. Among its uses, the East Wing has intermittently housed the offices and staff of the First Lady, and the White House Social Office. Rosalynn Carter, in 1977, was the first to place her personal office in the East Wing and to formally call it the "Office of the First Lady". The East Wing was built during World War II in order to hide the construction of an underground bunker to be used in emergencies. The bunker has come to be known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center.
This portion of the building was used as the setting for the popular television show The West Wing.
The West Wing houses the President's office (the Oval Office) and offices of his senior staff, with room for about 50 employees. It also includes the Cabinet Room, where the president conducts business meetings and where the Cabinet meets,[67] as well as the White House Situation Room, James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, and Roosevelt Room.[68] In 2007, work was completed on renovations of the press briefing room, adding fiber optic cables and LCD screens for the display of charts and graphs.[69] The makeover took 11 months and cost $8 million, of which news outlets paid $2 million.[69] In September 2010, a two-year project began on the West Wing, creating a multistory underground structure;[70] this will be followed with additional renovation of the wing.[71]
[66] The original residence is in the center. Two
Executive Residence
Today the group of buildings housing the presidency is known as the White House Complex. It includes the central Executive Residence flanked by the East Wing and West Wing. The Chief Usher coordinates day to day household operations. The White House includes: six stories and 55,000 ft² (5,100 m²) of floor space, 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms, 412 doors, 147 windows, twenty-eight fireplaces, eight staircases, three elevators, five full-time chefs, a tennis court, a (single-lane) bowling alley (officially called the Harry S. Truman Bowling Alley), a movie theater (officially called the White House Family Theater[61]), a jogging track, a swimming pool, and a putting green.[20] It receives up to 30,000 visitors each week.[62]
Layout and amenities
The president usually travels to and from the White House grounds via official motorcade or helicopter. In the 1950s, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first president to travel by helicopter to and from the White House grounds.[60]
In 2013 President Barack Obama installed a set of solar panels on the roof of the White House, making it the first time in history solar power would be used for a president's living quarters.[58][59]
The White House became one of the first wheelchair-accessible government buildings in Washington when modifications were made during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who used a wheelchair because of his paralytic illness. In the 1990s, Hillary Rodham Clinton—at the suggestion of Visitors Office Director Melinda N. Bates—approved the addition of a ramp in the East Wing corridor. It allowed easy wheelchair access for the public tours and special events that enter through the secure entrance building on the east side.
In the 1990s, Laura Bush refurbished the Lincoln Bedroom in a style contemporary to the Lincoln era; the Green Room, Cabinet Room, and theater were also refurbished.[57]
Computers and the first laser printer were added during the Carter administration, and the use of computer technology was expanded during the Reagan administration.[53] A Carter-era innovation, a set of solar water heating panels that were mounted on the roof of the White House, was removed during Reagan's presidency.[54][55] Redecorations were made to the private family quarters and maintenance was made to public areas during the Reagan years.[56] The house was accredited as a museum in 1988.[56]
During the Nixon administration (1969–74), First Lady Pat Nixon refurbished the Green Room, Blue Room, and Red Room, working with Clement Conger, the curator appointed by President Richard Nixon.[49] Mrs. Nixon's efforts brought more than 600 artifacts to the house, the largest acquisition by any administration.[50] Her husband created the modern press briefing room over Franklin Roosevelt's old swimming pool.[51] Nixon also added a single-lane bowling alley to the White House basement.[52]
Out of respect for the historic character of the White House, no substantive architectural changes have been made to the house since the Truman renovation.[47] Since the Kennedy restoration, every presidential family has made some changes to the private quarters of the White House, but the Committee for the Preservation of the White House must approve any modifications to the State Rooms. Charged with maintaining the historical integrity of the White House, the congressionally authorized committee works with each First Family—usually represented by the First Lady, the White House Curator, and the Chief Usher—to implement the family's proposals for altering the house.[48]
President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson
The White House since the Kennedy restoration
The first White House guidebook was produced under the direction of curator Lorraine Waxman Pearce with direct supervision from Mrs. Kennedy.[46] Sale of the guidebook helped finance the restoration.
Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of President John F. Kennedy (1961–63), directed a very extensive and historic redecoration of the house. She enlisted the help of Henry Francis du Pont of the Winterthur Museum to assist in collecting artifacts for the mansion, many of which had once been housed there.[45] Other antiques, fine paintings, and improvements of the Kennedy period were donated to the White House by wealthy philanthropists, including the Crowninshield family, Jane Engelhard, Jayne Wrightsman, and the Oppenheimer family. Stéphane Boudin of the House of Jansen, a Paris interior-design firm that had been recognized worldwide, was employed by Mrs. Kennedy to assist with the decoration.[45] Different periods of the early republic and world history were selected as a theme for each room: the Federal style for the Green Room, French Empire for the Blue Room, American Empire for the Red Room, Louis XVI for the Yellow Oval Room, and Victorian for the president's study, renamed the Treaty Room. Antique furniture was acquired, and decorative fabric and trim based on period documents was produced and installed. The Kennedy restoration resulted in a more authentic White House of grander stature, which recalled the French taste of Madison and Monroe.[45] In the Diplomatic Reception Room Mrs. Kennedy installed an antique "Vue de l'Amérique Nord" wall paper which Zuber & Cie had designed in 1834. The wallpaper had hung previously on the walls of another mansion until 1961 when that house was demolished for a grocery store. Just before the demolition, the wallpaper was salvaged and sold to the White House.
The Red Room as designed by Stéphane Boudin during the administration of John F. Kennedy
The Kennedy restoration
Decades of poor maintenance, the construction of a fourth story attic during the Coolidge administration, and the addition of a second-floor balcony over the south portico for Harry S. Truman[41] took a great toll on the brick and sandstone structure built around a timber frame.[13] By 1948, the house was declared to be in imminent danger of collapse, forcing President Truman to commission a reconstruction and move across the street to Blair House from 1949 to 1951.[42] The work, done by the firm of Philadelphia contractor John McShain, required the complete dismantling of the interior spaces, construction of a new load-bearing internal steel frame and the reconstruction of the original rooms within the new structure.[41] The total cost of the renovations was about $5.7 million (US$ 52 million in 2015).[43] Some modifications to the floor plan were made, the largest being the repositioning of the grand staircase to open into the Entrance Hall, rather than the Cross Hall.[41] Central air conditioning was added, as well as two additional sub-basements providing space for workrooms, storage, and a bomb shelter.[13] The Trumans moved back into the White House on March 27, 1952.[13] While the house's structure was kept intact by the Truman reconstruction, much of the new interior finishes were generic, and of little historic value. Much of the original plasterwork, some dating back to the 1814–1816 rebuilding, was too damaged to reinstall, as was the original robust Beaux Arts paneling in the East Room. President Truman had the original timber frame sawed into paneling; the walls of the Vermeil Room, Library, China Room, and Map Room on the ground floor of the main residence were paneled in wood from the timbers.[44]
Truman reconstruction, 1949–1952, a steel structure is built within the exterior shell
The Truman reconstruction
President William Howard Taft enlisted the help of architect Nathan C. Wyeth to add additional space to the West Wing, which included the addition of the Oval Office.[33] The West Wing was damaged by fire in 1929, but rebuilt during the remaining years of the Herbert Hoover presidency. In the 1930s, a second story was added, as well as a larger basement for White House staff, and President Franklin Roosevelt had the Oval Office moved to its present location: adjacent to the Rose Garden.[13]
However, in 1902 Theodore Roosevelt hired McKim, Mead & White to carry out expansions and renovations in a neoclassical style suited to the building's architecture, removing the Tiffany screen and all Victorian additions.[39][40] Charles McKim himself designed and managed the project, which gave more living space to the President's large family by removing a staircase in the West Hall and moving executive office staff from the second floor of the residence into the new West Wing.[13]
In 1891, First Lady Caroline Harrison proposed major extensions to the White House, including a National Wing on the east for an historical art gallery, and a wing on the west for official functions.[33] A plan was devised by Colonel Theodore A. Bingham, which reflected the Harrison proposal.[33] These plans were ultimately rejected.
In the fall of 1882 work was done on the main corridor, including tinting the walls pale olive and adding squares of gold leaf, and decorating the ceiling in gold and silver, and colorful traceries woven to spell "USA". The Red Room was painted a dull Pomeranian red, and its ceiling was decorated with gold, silver, and copper stars and stripes of red, white, and blue. A fifty-foot jeweled Tiffany glass screen, supported by imitation marble columns, replaced the glass doors that separated the main corridor from the north vestibule.[37][38]
When Chester Arthur took office in 1881, he ordered renovations to the White House to take place as soon as the recently widowed Lucretia Garfield moved out. Arthur inspected the work almost nightly and made several suggestions. Louis Comfort Tiffany was asked to send selected designers to assist. Over twenty wagonloads of furniture and household items were removed from the building and sold at a public auction.[35] All that was saved were bust portraits of John Adams and Martin Van Buren.[36] A proposal was made to build a new residence south of the White House, but it failed to gain support.
The Panic of 1873 had led to an economic depression that persisted through much of the decade. The Statue of Liberty project was not the only undertaking that had difficulty raising money: construction of the obelisk later known as the Washington Monument sometimes stalled for years.[34]
The White House North Lawn in the 1860s, during the Abraham Lincoln administration
By the time of the American Civil War, the White House had become overcrowded. The location of the White House was questioned, just north of a canal and swampy lands, which provided conditions ripe for malaria and other unhealthy conditions.[33] Brigadier General Nathaniel Michler was tasked to propose solutions to address these concerns. He proposed abandoning the use of the White House as a residence and designed a new estate for the first family at Meridian Hill in Washington, D.C., but Congress rejected the plan.[33]
Entrance Hall in 1882, showing the new Tiffany glass screen
Overcrowding and building the West Wing
The White House as it looked following the conflagration of August 24, 1814
Jefferson and Latrobe's West Wing Colonnade in this nineteenth-century engraved view, is now the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.
Principal story plan for the white house by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, 1807.
Earliest known photograph of the White House, taken c. 1846 by John Plumbe during the administration of James K. Polk.
After the fire, President James Madison resided in The Octagon House from 1814 to 1815, and then the Seven Buildings from 1815 to the end of his term.[29] Meanwhile, both architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe and Hoban contributed to the design and oversight of the reconstruction, which lasted from 1815 until 1817. The south portico was constructed in 1824 during the James Monroe administration; the north portico was built six years later.[13] Though Latrobe proposed similar porticos before the fire in 1814, both porticos were built as designed by Hoban.[30] An elliptical portico at Château de Rastignac in La Bachellerie, France with nearly identical curved stairs is speculated as the source of inspiration due to its similarity with the South Portico,[31] although this matter is one of great debate.[32] Italian artisans, brought to Washington to help in constructing the U.S. Capitol, carved the decorative stonework on both porticos. Contrary to speculation, the North Portico was not modeled on a similar portico on another Dublin building, the Viceregal Lodge (now Áras an Uachtaráin, residence of the President of Ireland), for its portico postdates the White House porticos' design.[31] For the North Portico, a variation on the Ionic Order was devised incorporating a swag of roses between the volutes. This was done to link the new portico with the earlier carved roses above the entrance.
[28] had no involvement in that action.Fantome even though [27][26] during a storm on the night of November 24, 1814,Prospect off Halifax sank en route to HMS Fantome, claiming that his grandfather had taken it from Washington. Some observers allege that most of these spoils were lost when a convoy of British ships led by Franklin D. Roosevelt and in 1939, a Canadian man returned a jewelry box to President [25]
Pittsburgh/On this day
Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Steelers, University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
White House, John F. Kennedy, Assassination of John F. Kennedy, McLean, Virginia, Robert F. Kennedy