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In October 1792, construction began on the president’s house, which was set on an 82-acre preserve. Although Washington DC designer Pierre Charles L’Enfant designed the president’s house, architect James Hoban finalized a more conservative design. Hoban had won a competition among nine submissions to design the White House, receiving a gold medal. George Washington himself selected the exact site of the house within the city, symbolically choosing a spot near where the Capitol would be. The first president to live in the White House was John Adams, the second president and first vice president (serving under George Washington), whose family took up residence in 1800.
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Washington DC was designed and created to be the nation’s capital and not be beholden to, or provide a special advantage to, any state. Inside this new city, a residence was created to be the seat of the executive branch and serve as the living quarters and office of the chief executive. 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. In 1805, upon winning re-election, Thomas Jefferson held the first Inauguration open house at the White House, allowing the public to enter.
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In addition to the Oval Office, the West Wing complex includes the Situation Room, Cabinet Room, Roosevelt Room and press briefing room, among others. The first guards served as tour guides during the day, and only in 1830 were the first formal guards stationed outside the mansion during public events. In 1837, the White House finally received its first full-time guard, with multiple guards only becoming standard in the 1840s. Security expanded considerably during the US Civil War ( ) but relaxed afterward. Not until the 1890s did security begin to seal off open access to the White House grounds. A sentry box, or security guard post, was added in 1894 for the first time.
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Originally, the building was meant for the State Department and other offices, but expanding duties of the White House led more and more White House functions to be moved into the building. In 1949, the entire building was formally given to the Executive Office of the President. Fifty years later, it was renamed after former president Dwight D. Eisenhower. Like both the White House and Naval Observatory, the EEOB is also on the National Registry of Historic Places, having received the honor in 1969.
The White House: Everything You Need to Know About the US President's Residence - Architectural Digest
The White House: Everything You Need to Know About the US President's Residence.
Posted: Thu, 23 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
In the 1796 elections, John Adams won over Thomas Jefferson, and he became the second president of the United States. The president said on Wednesday that "this is a historical moment," adding that "America stands with our friends, we stand up against dictators, we bow to no one, to no one — certainly not Vladimir Putin." Here's what presidents and first family members have said about what it's like to live in the White House. Construction of the Oval Office -- the president’s work quarters -- took place in 1909 when Howard Taft was president as part of a project to expand the executive wing.
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At the time, Washington DC was considered the geographic epicenter of the United States, though this would change during the lengthy era of Westward Expansion. The plans included the location for the future White House, the Capitol to house Congress, and the National Mall. President John Adams was born on October 30, 1735, in their family farm located in Braintree (present-day Quincy) Massachusetts to John Adams Senior and Susanna Boylston Adams.
George Washington, the hero of the American Revolutionary War, agreed to preside over this convention when it met in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787. The White House is one of the most recognizable structures in the world and is home to United States' elected president. Its construction started in 1792, and its location was chosen by the country's first president, President George Washington, the previous year. A series of designs for the structure were submitted, and Washington selected the one created by Irish-American architect James Hoban.
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The ground floor originally housed service areas, but now includes the Diplomatic Reception Room, the White House Library, the Map Room, the Vermeil Room, and the China Room. The State Floor features some of the White House’s most treasured spaces, including the East Room, the Blue, Red, and Green Rooms, the State Dining Room, and the Family Dining Room. Located at the country’s most well-known address, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in Washington, DC, the White House is America’s most iconic home.
Early maps referred to the White House as the “President’s Palace,” but in 1810, the building was officially named “Executive Mansion” in order to avoid any connection to royalty. The residence has also been called “President’s House,” or “President’s Mansion.” In 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt changed the official name to “White House,” a moniker that had been used throughout the 19th century. Beautiful landscaping has graced the White House grounds since the administration of Thomas Jefferson. The South Lawn features over three dozen commemorative trees that date back to the 1870s. During the Kennedy administration, Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon redesigned the White House gardens, including the famed Rose Garden outside the West Wing.
She also noted that she had to hang their washing in an empty “audience room” (the current East Room). The U.S. government didn't own slaves, according to the National Archives, but it did pay slave owners to hire them to help build the White House. According to the White House Historical Association, Washington, D.C.’s city commissioners originally planned to spirit workers from Europe for the construction, which started in 1792 and took eight years to complete. The city of Washington DC (District of Columbia) was established on July 16, 1790, with the site chosen by inaugural president George Washington. Designer Pierre Charles L’Enfant created the map for the new city using inspiration from existing European cities like London, Paris, Madrid, and several cities in Italy.
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. 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. Labourers, including local enslaved people, were housed in temporary huts built on the north side of the premises.
After his calls at the White House door went unanswered, Dickens let himself in and walked through the mansion from room to room on the lower and upper floors. Finally coming upon a room filled with nearly two dozen people, he was shocked and appalled to see many of them spitting on the carpet. Dickens later wrote, “I take it for granted the Presidential housemaids have high wages.” Until the Civil War, however, most White House servants were enslaved people.
As we celebrate the anniversary of the White House, it is important to reflect on its remarkable history. From its humble beginnings as a design on paper to becoming the home of the American presidency, the White House has stood the test of time. It continues to be a symbol of power, leadership, and the democratic values that define the United States. President Joe Biden, who took up residence on January 20, 2021, continues the legacy of past presidents in this historic landmark.
The East Garden, also redesigned by Mellon, was later named in honor of Jacqueline Kennedy. First lady Michelle Obama added a 1,100-square-foot vegetable garden on the south grounds in 2009. Each president adds their own personal style to the workspace, choosing artwork from the White House collection or borrowing from museums.
Throughout much of Harry S. Truman's presidency, the interior of the house, with the exception of the third floor, was completely gutted and renovated while the Trumans lived at Blair House, right across Pennsylvania Avenue. Nonetheless, the exterior stone walls are those first put in place when the White House was constructed two centuries ago. 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.
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