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The White House was designed as a simple residence without any iconographic program expressive of power or dynasty such as was then common with the official residences of European heads of state. Yet the south portico, because it is so often filmed and illustrated, has become a worldwide symbol of the American presidency and, by extension, of the country's power and prestige. Construction began in October of 1792 with the laying of the first cornerstone.
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Open to the public for free, the White House reflects the nation’s history through the various collections and characters that each of its residents has left on its walls, serving as a global symbol of the American Nation. For the first five years of independence from Britain, beginning in 1783, the US only had a Congress under its original governing document. This document, the Articles of Confederation, had no position of chief executive.
Who was the first president to live in the White House?
From 1873 to 1927, the White House received numerous architectural and decorative contributions. Despite architect Latrobe’s suggestions to rebuild it with a new design, its new occupant, President James Madison, decided to restore it and return it to its original appearance, under the supervision of the also original architect, James Hoban. During the War of 1812, much of the city of Washington was burned by the British army. The architect was chosen in a contest that received several proposals and was won by James Hoban. Hoban was persuaded to submit a design by Washington himself, who was the judge, and of course selected it.
James Hoban, Designer and Builder of the White House
A final major overhaul took place after Harry Truman entered office in 1945. With structural problems mounting from the 1902 installation of floor-bearing steel beams, most of the building’s interior was stripped bare as a new concrete foundation went in place. The Trumans helped redesign most of the state rooms and decorate the second and third floors, and the president proudly displayed the results during a televised tour of the completed house in 1952. 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.
The first first family
The first floor of the West Wing includes the Oval Office and the offices of those closest to the president. It also houses meeting rooms and offices for the White House Press Corps. In 1948, President Harry S Truman added a hotly debated balcony to the South Portico, on the second floor. Not long after this construction, it was discovered that the main body of the residence was structurally unstable. The structure was emptied and rebuilt using concrete and steel beams to replace the original wooden beams.
Closure of Pennsylvania Avenue
For most of his presidency, Harry Truman was not able to live in the house. Today, the White House and/or White House grounds are open periodically to the public for tours. In 1812, war erupted between the United States and Britain over trade disputes and the impressment of American sailors into the Royal Navy.
Construction
Hoban was awarded the $500 premium on 17 July 1792; the cornerstone was laid on 12 October for a building one-fifth larger, at President Washington's suggestion. During construction, the basement story was essentially eliminated, reducing the three-story residence to two stories raised slightly aboveground in the contemporaneous French manner. The plan called for a large square entry hall on the north on axis with an oval room, resulting in a central semicircular bow on the south.
Owners collected a wage while continuing to provide clothing and some medical care. The commissioners typically provided workers with housing, two meals per day, and basic medical care. This arrangement allowed the nascent capital to reap the benefits of labor without bearing total responsibility for the workers’ general wellbeing. If an enslaved worker did not show up to work, the overseer simply docked the pay given to the owner.12 Many of the documented enslaved laborers worked on both the White House and the Capitol Building. Because these two projects were so closely intertwined, it is often difficult to determine which laborers specifically worked on the White House between the procurement and production of resources and the shuttling of labor between sites. In addition to constructing the buildings, enslaved individuals also worked the quarries where the stones for the government buildings came from.
Instead, public opinion and concern about the effective operation of the executive branch led the government to consider additions to the original building. In 1890, architect Frederick D. Owen, in collaboration with Mrs. Benjamin Harrison, proposed major additions to the White House. Two replicas of the original structure were to be attached to it at right angles via circular colonnaded pavilions, resulting in a U-shaped complex open to the south. A decade later Theodore A. Bingham of the Army Corps of Engineers, working with Owen, proposed that only the two-story circular pavilions be added to create much-needed office space.
James Hoban was brought in to rebuild it according to the original design, but this time the sandstone walls were coated with lime-based whitewash. Although the building was often called the "White House," the name did not become official until 1902, when President Theodore Roosevelt adopted it. A key feature of the design of the capital city, the President has lived in a home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue since 1800. Although it didn’t bear the name we know it by today – the White House – until around 1811, President John Adams and wife Abigail were the home’s first residents, and it has been the official residence of the president ever since. When the Adamses moved in, the biggest room on the first floor, or State Floor, was the unfinished East Room, which occupied the entire east end of the building and was intended as an audience room for public events. An unfinished oval room (what is now the Blue Room) was at the center of the plan to facilitate public receptions where guests traditionally stood in a circlewaiting to greet the president.
Located at the country’s most well-known address, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in Washington, DC, the White House is America’s most iconic home. The official residence and office of the president of the United States, the White House has been the home of every president since John Adams and the site of some of the most important events in American history. The general layout of the White House grounds today is based on the 1935 design by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. of the Olmsted Brothers firm, commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Like its inhabitants throughout history, the house at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington DC, has witnessed conflict, controversy, and astonishing transformations. The elegant porticoed mansion we see today is quite different from the austere Georgian-style house designed in 1800 by Irish architect James Hoban, under the presidency of George Washington. The West Wing office complex was built in 1902, allowing the president to move his office out of the executive residence to a more professional environment. It includes modernizations like the Situation Room, which is staffed 24 hours a day to keep the president updated on crucial events around the world. In 1805, upon winning re-election, Thomas Jefferson held the first Inauguration open house at the White House, allowing the public to enter. Presidents are allowed to renovate the White House to fit their personal needs, as well as those of their families.
In 1829, an inaugural crowd of 20,000 people followed President Andrew Jackson to the White House. He was forced to flee to the safety of a hotel while staff filled washtubs with orange juice and whiskey to lure the mob out of the house. It was almost immediately reconstructed, and a semi-circular South portico and North portico were added a while later.
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