White House

The White House is the official residence of the president of the United States of America. The six-level structure, including a two-story basement, sits on eighteen acres of land at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC. First used by an American president in 1800, the building was destroyed by an invading army, expanded numerous times, and remodeled completely in the twentieth century. While the White House is one of the most heavily guarded buildings on earth, it is also the only private residence of a world leader open to public visits free of charge.

History

Of all the presidents in the history of the United States, George Washington is the only one who never lived in the White House. Washington served his two terms in New York and Philadelphia while the city that bears his name was being built along the banks of the Potomac River. In 1791, Washington chose the site for the future executive residence in the new federal district in southern Maryland and northern Virginia. Irish architect James Hoban was selected to design the building, and construction began in 1792. Much of the land clearing and construction was performed by enslaved Black people. Eight years after construction began, the building was completed at a cost of $232,372—about $3.2 million in 2015 dollars. The second US president, John Adams, became the first official resident of the White House on November 1, 1800.

In its early years, the building was covered with a lime-based whitewash. It was referred to as the "President's Palace," the "President's House," or the "Executive Mansion," although it was occasionally called the "White House" as a nickname. Thomas Jefferson began the practice of incoming presidents adding their own touches to the building when he took office in 1801. Jefferson was also the first to open the White House to public tours in 1805.

During the War of 1812, British forces invaded Washington and burned the White House to the ground on August 24, 1814. The act was in retaliation for US troops torching the Canadian parliament and other government buildings in Ontario. US lawmakers briefly discussed moving the capital out of Washington and not rebuilding, but they decided against the move. Hoban was brought back to reconstruct the White House. While some of the exterior stone walls could be reused, to save time, Hoban substituted wood for the original brick on much of the interior. The structure was completed in three years, and James Madison moved back into the rebuilt White House in 1817. A year later, the building was given its first coat of white paint.

Over the years, several presidents began expanding the structure, adding porticoes, a library, and a flower garden. The White House received running water in 1833 and a central heating system in 1837. In 1891, the building was wired with electricity. When Theodore Roosevelt took office in 1901, he officially named the residence the White House. He began a major reconstruction project the next year that moved the president's office from the second floor to the new Executive Office Building, which later became known as the West Wing. Seven years later, William Howard Taft expanded the new addition and built the first Oval Office. In 1913, First Lady Ellen Wilson established the Rose Garden during her husband Woodrow Wilson's presidency. Franklin Roosevelt further expanded the West Wing in 1934 and moved the Oval Office to the southeast corner to allow better access for his wheelchair.

After World War II, the White House was beginning to show its age. James Hoban's decision to use wood instead of brick during its hasty rebuild 130 years earlier was causing serious problems. Floors were swaying, steel beams buckling, and the Secret Service determined the building was a firetrap. Rather than demolish the structure, President Harry Truman ordered a complete reconstruction of the building. Only the White House walls were left standing as the interior was gutted and rebuilt. The four-year project was completed in 1952, during which time Truman and his family stayed at the nearby President's Guest House.

In the ensuing decades, future administrations continued to personalize the White House. Dwight Eisenhower installed a putting green in the 1950s; Richard Nixon built a bowling alley in the 1970s; Bill Clinton added a jogging track in the 1990s, and first lady Michelle Obama added a large vegetable garden in 2009.

The Modern White House

During Joe Biden's administration, the White House was 168 feet long, about 85 feet wide, and had 132 rooms, including a movie theater, beauty salon, physician’s office, florist shop, and swimming pool. The total floor space of the White House was fifty-five thousand square feet and the grounds were eighteen acres wide. Free public tours of the White House could be arranged through members of Congress on select days and times, depending on the president's schedule.

The president's protection detail, the Secret Service, refer to the White House as "Olympus," named after the mythical Greek home of the gods. Security is extremely tight, with armed Secret Service agents constantly patrolling the grounds. A highly trained SWAT team is stationed on the roof whenever the president leaves or enters the building. The grounds are surrounded by a seven-and-a-half-foot reinforced iron fence. Spikes were added to the fence top in September 2015 after a man with a knife scaled the barrier and gained access to the building. The 147 windows in the White House are bulletproof, concrete barriers are set up outside the fence, alarms are installed underground in the lawn, and infrared sensors are positioned above ground. The airspace above the White House is restricted, and radar and laser-tracking devices are installed on the roof to detect violations of the no-fly zone.

Bibliography

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“Has Every President Worked in the Oval Office?” The White House Historical Association, www.whitehousehistory.org/press-room/press-backgrounders/white-house-dimensions. Accessed 14 Dec. 2024.

"Inside the White House." The White House, www.whitehouse.gov/about/inside-white-house. Accessed 14 Dec. 2024.

Ross, Philip. "Secret Service Security Breach: How White House Protection Works." International Business Times, 30 Sept. 2014, www.ibtimes.com/secret-service-security-breach-how-white-house-protection-works-1697072. Accessed 14 Dec. 2024.

“Slaves Built the White House and Capitol-See the Records.” National Archives, 10 Dec. 2008, www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2009/nr09-28-images.html. Accessed 14 Dec. 2024.

"Washington, D.C." A&E Television Networks, 20 Jan. 2016, www.history.com/topics/us-states/washington-dc. Accessed 14 Dec. 2024.

"White House." A&E Television Networks, 19 Jan. 2016, www.history.com/topics/white-house. Accessed 14 Dec. 2024.

"White House Dimensions." The White House Historical Association, www.whitehousehistory.org/press-room/press-backgrounders/white-house-dimensions. Accessed 14 Dec. 2024.