White House History, Location, & Facts
Table Of Content
The building’s history begins in 1792, when a public competition was held to choose a design for a presidential residence in the new capital city of Washington. Thomas Jefferson, later the country’s third president (1801–09), using the pseudonymous initials “A.Z.,” was among those who submitted drawings, but Irish American architect James Hoban won the commission (and a $500 prize) with his plan for a Georgian mansion in the Palladian style. The structure was to have three floors and more than 100 rooms and would be built in sandstone imported from quarries along Aquia Creek in Virginia.
Presidents
Before the construction began, a public completion was staged requesting design submissions for the would-be presidential palace. Irish-born architect James Hoban’s drawing was chosen out of a total nine submissions. The site of the historic building in the new capital city of Washington was chosen by George Washington (1789 — 97), the first US President, in 1791. He was assisted in the task by the renowned city planner, Pierre L’Enfant. The White House Visitors Centre is worth visiting regardless as a great source of White House history, including details of the building’s architecture and history. There are plenty of fun anecdotes and a comprehensive American Presidential history.
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Every president since John Adams has occupied the White House, and the history of this building extends far beyond the construction of its walls. The White House remains a place where history continues to unfold. Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of President John F. Kennedy (1961–63), directed a very extensive and historic redecoration of the house.
Early history
Eight years later, in 1909, President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and created the first Oval Office, which was eventually moved and expanded. In the Executive Residence, 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. The East Wing alterations were completed in 1946, creating additional office space. By 1948, the residence's load-bearing walls and 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 was constructed inside the walls.
Who was the first president to live in the White House?
Nine proposals were submitted for the new presidential residence with the award going to Irish-American architect James Hoban. Capitol and the White House.[17] Hoban was born in Ireland and trained at the Dublin Society of Arts. He emigrated to the U.S. after the American Revolution, first seeking work in Philadelphia and later finding success in South Carolina, where he designed the state capitol in Columbia. Thomas Jefferson added his own personal touches upon moving in a few months later, installing two water closets and working with architect Benjamin Latrobe to add bookending terrace-pavilions. Having transformed the building into a more suitable representation of a leader’s home, Jefferson held the first inaugural open house in 1805, and also opened its doors for public tours and receptions on New Year’s Day and the Fourth of July.
Not long after the inauguration of President George Washington in 1789, plans to build an official President’s House in a federal district along the Potomac River took shape. A contest to find a builder produced a winning design from Irish-born architect James Hoban, who modeled his building after an Anglo-Irish villa in Dublin called the Leinster House. The White House is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., in Washington, D.C., perhaps the nation's most famous address. Empowered by the Residence Act of 1790, President George Washington chose the exact spot for the 10-square-mile capital, on the Potomac River's east bank and near the Capitol building.
The White House since the Kennedy restoration
During the War of 1812 the building was burned by the British, and Pres. James Madison (1809–17) and his family were forced to flee the city. The Madisons eventually moved into the nearby Octagon House, the Washington mansion of John Tayloe, a Virginia plantation owner. Reconstruction and expansion began under Hoban’s direction, but the building was not ready for occupancy until 1817, during the administration of Pres. Hoban’s reconstruction included the addition of east and west terraces on the main building’s flanks; a semicircular south portico and a colonnaded north portico were added in the 1820s. Our first president, George Washington, selected the site for the White House in 1791.
How much land does the White House and its grounds cover?
In addition to the Oval Office, the West Wing complex includes the Situation Room, Cabinet Room, Roosevelt Room and press briefing room, among others. Over the years, the executive mansion has seen multiple renovations, including extensive work by Theodore Roosevelt in 1902, which included the installation of electric lights. In 1948, after engineers discovered the building to be structurally unsound and unsafe for habitation, Harry S. Truman ordered a complete gutting of the interior and a total overhaul of the building's structure and foundation. Truman and his family lived in Blair House across the street during the renovations. By the time John Adams had moved in at the now iconic building, the entire federal government was already relocated from its previous seat in Philadelphia to the new capital city of Washington. The White House today holds 132 rooms on six floors, the floor space totaling approximately 55,000 square feet.
Originally called the “President’s Palace” on early maps, the building was officially named the Executive Mansion in 1810 in order to avoid connotations of royalty. Although the name “White House” was commonly used from about the same time (because the mansion’s white-gray sandstone contrasted strikingly with the red brick of nearby buildings), it did not become the official name of the building until 1901, when it was adopted by Pres. The White House is the oldest federal building in the nation’s capital. The official home for the U.S. president was designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban in the 1790s. Rebuilt after a British attack in 1814, the “President’s House” evolved with the personal touches of its residents, and accommodated such technological changes as the installation of electricity.
Louis Comfort Tiffany was asked to send selected designers to assist. The building’s South and North Porticoes were added in 1824 and 1829, respectively, while John Quincy Adams established the residence’s first flower garden. Subsequent administrations continued to overhaul and bolster the interior through Congressional appropriations; the Fillmores added a library in the second-floor oval room, while the Arthurs hired famed decorator Louis Tiffany to redecorate the east, blue, red and state dining rooms. Ever since Theodore Roosevelt moved his workspace from the residence to the newly built West Wing in 1902, the two-story West Wing has been home to the U.S. presidential offices.
Both home and workplace of the president of the United States, the White House stands stately and regal at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW as an unmistakable emblem of American democracy. Every US president since John Adams and their families have made the building their home at one time or other and the history and the evolution of the building is closely intertwined with the history of the nation itself. Here took place numerous treaty signings, summit meetings and several other events of the kind that were to have huge impact on the global political scene. Referred by many as the “living museum of American history”, the history continues to unfold at this iconic building that is the While House. A guide to 10 of the very best historic sites in America's capital city, including The Capitol, Lincoln Memorial and The White House.
A Russian nobleman visiting the White House shortly before the Civil War was left thoroughly unimpressed by its magnitude. He commented that the mansion looked just about ‘sufficient for a private family’ and was far from what any European would expect of a president’s home. Hoban’s design was of a Palladian style Georgian mansion spread across three floors and containing more than 100 rooms. The stone exterior of the building was first painted with a lime-based whitewash in 1798 to protect it from the elements and freezing temperatures. According to the White House Historical Association, the "White House" moniker began to appear in newspapers before the War of 1812. In stark contrast, Jefferson, already during the early days in the house’s history, felt it to be too large—large enough, in Jefferson’s estimate, to accommodate one Pope, two emperors, and the grand lama!
The three-level southern façade combines Palladian and neoclassical architectural styles. The south portico was completed in 1824.[33] At the center of the southern façade is a neoclassical projected bow of three bays. The bow is flanked by five bays, the windows of which, as on the north façade, have alternating segmented and pointed pediments at first-floor level.
The interior was redecorated during various presidential administrations and modern conveniences were regularly added, including a refrigerator in 1845, gas lighting in 1849, and electric lighting in 1891. Less than fifty years after the Roosevelt renovation, the White House was already showing signs of serious structural weakness. President Harry S. Truman began a renovation of the building in which everything but the outer walls was dismantled. The reconstruction was overseen by architect Lorenzo Winslow, and in 1952, the Truman family moved back into the White House. 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.
The following year, the cornerstone was laid and a design submitted by Irish-born architect James Hoban was chosen. After eight years of construction, President John Adams and his wife Abigail moved into the still-unfinished residence. During the War of 1812, the British set fire to the President’s House, and James Hoban was appointed to rebuild it. James Monroe moved into the building in 1817, and during his administration, the South Portico was constructed. In 1829, Andrew Jackson oversaw the addition of the North Portico.
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