 THE WHITE HOUSE
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 was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the executive residence of every U.S. President since John Adams.
When Thomas Jefferson moved into the home in 1801, he (with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe) expanded the building outward, creating two colonnades which were meant to conceal stables and storage.
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 walls. Reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed house in October 1817. Construction continued with the addition of the South Portico in 1824 and the North in 1829.
Due to crowding within the executive mansion itself, President Theodore Roosevelt had nearly 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; both new wings were connected by Jefferson's colonnades. 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, resulting in the construction of a new internal load-bearing steel framework and the reassembly of the interior rooms.
Today, the White House Complex includes the Executive Residence (in which the First Family resides), the West Wing (the location of the Oval Office, Cabinet Room, and Roosevelt Room), and the East Wing (the location of the office of the First Lady and White House Social Secretary), as well as the Old Executive Office Building, which houses the executive offices of the President and Vice President.
The White House 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 regularly used as a metonym for the Executive Office of the President of the United States and for the president's administration and advisors in general. The property is owned by the National Park Service and is part of the President's Park.
It was ranked second on the American Institute of Architects's List of America's Favorite Architecture.
 THE KENNEDY 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 home, many of which had once been housed there.
Other antiques, fine paintings, and improvements of the Kennedy period were donated to the White House by wealthy donors, 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 world-wide, was employed by Mrs. Kennedy to assist with the decoration.
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.
The first White House guide book was produced under the direction of curator Lorraine Waxman Pearce with direct supervision from Jacqueline Kennedy. Sale of the guide book helped finance the restoration.
THE WHITE HOUSE TODAY
Since the Kennedy restoration, every presidential family has made some changes to their private quarters of the White House, but changes to the State Rooms must all be approved by the Committee for the Preservation of the White House (formerly the Kennedys' Fine Arts Committee). Aimed at maintaining the historical integrity of the White House, the congressionally authorized committee works with the First Family, usually represented by the First Lady, the White House Curator, and Chief Usher to implement the family's proposed plans for altering the home.
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 President Richard Nixon appointed. Mrs. Nixon's efforts brought over 600 artifacts to the home, the largest acquisition by any administration. Her husband created the modern press briefing room over Franklin Roosevelt's old swimming pool.
In the 1990s, Bill and Hillary Clinton had some rooms refurbished with the assistance of Arkansas decorator Kaki Hockersmith, including the Oval Office, the East Room, Blue Room, State Dining Room, and Lincoln Sitting Room. A refurbishment of the Lincoln Bedroom begun during the Clinton administration was completed in George W. Bush's administration, and the refurbishment of the Green Room and East Room has begun. The White House is one of the first government buildings in Washington that was made wheelchair-accessible, with modifications having been made during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who needed to use a wheelchair as a result of his paraplegia. 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.
For more information on the The White House, visit Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
 WASHINGTON D.C. HOTELS & ACCOMMODATION
WASHINGTON D.C. TOURS, TRAVEL & ACTIVITIES
HOME •
USA •
DISCOVER •
Washington D.C. •
The White House
|
Looking for something specific?
 
|
DISCOVER THE U.S.A.
U.S.A. TOURS & TRAVEL
