Table Of Content
There is a full sub-basement and a mezzanine basement (partial floor). Some spaces, such as the air conditioning room, the water purification plant, the control room, and the electrical switching room, are two stories high. President George Washington assisted in selecting the site, alongside city planner Pierre L’Enfant, whose project for the White House, as we saw earlier, was eventually discarded in favor or Hoban’s.
Readout of President Joe Biden’s Call with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel
Many historians believe that James Hoban’s design was based on his design for the Leinster House (1748) in Dublin, Ireland, excluding the north and south porticoes, which is currently the seat of the Irish parliament. In 1800, when the house was almost finished, the second president of the United States, John Adams, and his wife Abigail moved into it. The President’s House was destroyed by fire under the invasion of the British army. James Hoban rebuilt it according to the original design, but this time the sandstone walls were painted white. The White House and grounds cover just over 18 acres (about 7.3 hectares).
Executive Residence
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If you are a citizen of a foreign country, please contact your embassy in Washington, D.C.
The White House Building
One of the reasons why it is recognized is the fact that it is the home of the sitting US President and his family. Due to its importance to the country, the building is well protected by the Secret Service, local law enforcement agencies in Washington DC, and the branches of the US military. The White House is the official office and residence of the president of the United States. The first presidential palace was a stately yet simple house made of pale gray sandstone, later covered with white lime. The former housekeeper’s room, with its built-in closets, is now the Diplomatic Reception Room.
Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of President John F. Kennedy (1961–63), directed a very extensive and historic redecoration of the house. The French Second Empire style originated in Europe, where it first appeared during the rebuilding of Paris in the 1850s and 60s. Based upon French Renaissance prototypes, such as the Louvre Palace, the Second Empire style is characterized by the use of a steep mansard roof, central and end pavilions, and an elaborately sculptured facade. Its sophistication appealed to visiting foreigners, especially in England and America, where as early as the late 1850s, architects began adopting isolated features and, eventually, the style as a coherent whole.
Early history
It’s still very cool to see, especially when you think about the fact that people actually live here. The White House may well be the most powerful and abiding symbol of American government. The second president of the United States, John Adams, moved into the still-unfinished presidential mansion on November 1, 1800.
Designed by Supervising Architect of the Treasury Alfred Mullett, the granite, slate, and cast iron exterior makes the EEOB one of America’s best examples of the French Second Empire style of architecture. Visitors who wish to use a White House wheelchair should notify a U.S. Use of public transportation is strongly encouraged, as there is no parking available on the White House complex and street parking is limited. The closest Metrorail stations to the White House are Federal Triangle (blue and orange lines), Metro Center (blue, orange, silver, and red lines), and McPherson Square (blue, orange, and silver lines). Consistent with prior practices, public White House tour requests must be submitted a minimum of 21 days in advance and no more than 90 days in advance of the requested tour date(s). Reservations cannot be accepted for tour dates outside this 21 – 90-day window.
The entire structure has benefited from an upgraded maintenance program that has also included restoration of some of the EEOB’s most spectacular historic interiors. In December of 1869, Congress appointed a commission to select a site and prepare plans and cost estimates for a new State Department Building. The commission was also to consider possible arrangements for the War and Navy Departments. The White House is one of the few prominent buildings in Washington, D.C.
Construction Plan
The White House is both the home and workplace of the president of the United States, and it is the headquarters of the president’s principal staff members. It includes a billiards room, a workout room, a solarium, and a music room added by the Clinton family. Above the pantry, the Usher’s office, and the lobby elevator on the first floor is a mezzanine that includes some small closets, another pantry for pastries, and the clock room. The basements of the White House were not part of the original structure. They were excavated in 1949 during the renovation undertaken by Truman.
While it was only a project on the drafting table, the design of the EEOB was subject to controversy. When it was completed in 1888, the Second Empire style had fallen from favor, and Mullett’s masterpiece was perceived by capricious Victorians as only an embarrassing reminder of past whims in architectural preference. This was especially the case with the EEOB, since previous plans for a building on the same site had been in the Greek Revival style of the Treasury Building. Less than fifty years after the Roosevelt renovation, the White House was already showing signs of serious structural weakness.
Reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed Executive Residence in October 1817. Exterior construction continued with the addition of the semicircular South Portico in 1824 and the North Portico in 1829. Completed in 1875, the State Department’s south wing was the first to be occupied, with its elegant four-story library (completed in 1876), Diplomatic Reception Room, and Secretary’s office decorated with carved wood, Oriental rugs, and stenciled wall patterns. The Navy Department moved into the east wing in 1879, where elaborate wall and ceiling stenciling and marquetry floors decorated the office of the Secretary. The Indian Treaty Room, originally the Navy’s library and reception room, cost more per square foot than any other room in the building because of its rich marble wall panels, tiled floors, 800-pound bronze sconces, and gold-leaf ornamentation. This room has been the scene of many Presidential news conferences and continues to be used for conferences and receptions attended by the President.
Just hope it's not under construction or the president has to leave because things shut down and it's almost impossible to get around. The White House was the scene of mourning after the assassination of Pres. While Mary Todd Lincoln lay in her room for five weeks grieving for her husband, many White House holdings were looted. Responding to charges that she had stolen government property when she left the White House, she angrily inventoried all the items she had taken with her, including gifts of quilts and waxworks from well-wishers.
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. The White House and its landscaped grounds occupy 18 acres (7.2 hectares). Since the administration of George Washington (1789–97), who occupied presidential residences in New York and Philadelphia, every American president has resided at the White House. 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.
The house is also renovated by the federal government which gives contracts to companies that meet its stringent requirements. Since the renovation after the War of 1812, further renovations have been done like the restoration works done during the Kennedy years. Unlike in the previous century where it was easy to access the White House, today one has to be invited by the President and then go through screening by the Secret Service.
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. Rosalynn Carter, in 1977, was the first to place her personal office in the East Wing and to formally call it the "Office of the First Lady".
The foundation was laid in 1792 by a labor force of African American slaves, free African American laborers, and other immigrants who were yet to legalize their status in America, many of whom were from Europe. The construction plan was made by French engineer Charles Pierre L’Efant and it entailed having two floors and using less costly materials but it had to be altered after problems. During the War of 1812 the building was burned by the British, and Pres. The Madisons eventually moved into the nearby Octagon House, the Washington mansion of John Tayloe, a Virginia plantation owner.
