The United States Of America

The Constitution And Democracy

White House
White House, the mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., in Washington, D.C., that has served as the home of every American president since John ADAMS . Although the building is not so imposing as the palaces of many heads of state, it has become a symbol of the grandeur and burden of the presidency, as well as of the greatness of the United States. 

Description
The main section of the White House measures 170 feet (51 meters) long and 85 feet (25.5 meters) deep. The building's stories are mounted on a basement, which because of the slope of the land is actually a ground floor on the south side. The West Wing, completed in 1902 and containing the presidential office and the Cabinet Room, and the East Wing, built in 1942 for offices, flank the mansion. The White House is situated on some 18 acres (7.2 hectares) of land. The beautifully landscaped grounds include the famous Rose Garden and the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden.

James Hoban, the Irish-born architect who designed the White House in 1792, drew heavily on the Palladian style popular at the time. Chosen after an open competition, his plan for a boxlike stone structure with a hipped roof, balustrade, and columned entrance was not original, but it was attractive, dignified, and flexible.

The rooms on the state (first) floor have not been altered significantly since Hoban's time. The East Room serves as the great reception room. It is dominated by huge chandeliers, a mahogany piano supported by gilt eagles, and a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington. The bodies of eight presidents have lain in state in the East Room, and during the Civil War, Union troops were quartered there. The adjacent Green Room, used by Thomas JEFFERSON  as a dining room, is furnished as a parlor in early-19th-century style. The elegant, oval Blue Room, overlooking the south grounds, contains the exquisite French Empire furniture installed by the James MONROE  in 1817. The Red Room, used as a parlor or sitting room, is decorated in the American Empire style. In the large white and gold State Dining Room at the west end of the house is a multisectioned bronze-doré (gilt-bronze) centerpiece purchased by Monroe.

On the second floor are the LINCOLN  Bedroom, where the Emancipation Proclamation was signed; the rose and white Queen's Bedroom, which is occupied by visiting royalty; and the Treaty Room, which is furnished as a conference room of the Grant era.

Among the noteworthy rooms on the ground floor are the China Room, a library, and the Diplomatic Reception Room, which was a boiler room until it was renovated in 1902. Franklin ROOSEVELT  made his fireside chats from that room, which now features American Sheraton furniture and a rare scenic wallpaper from 1834.

History 
When President Adams arrived in the new Federal City in November 1800, he was dismayed to discover that the executive mansion was far from finished. Rooms were unplastered and the main staircase was incomplete. Since no laundry yard was available, ABIGAIL ADAMS  hung her wash in the unfinished East Room. Soon, however, the Adamses were entertaining at formal receptions at which the president, dressed in black velvet breeches, stood on a dais and bowed stiffly to his guests.

Such formality seemed undemocratic to the next president, Thomas Jefferson. He displeased traditionalists by shaking hands with visitors and by entertaining at small dinner parties where good food and conversation took precedence over ritual. During Jefferson's tenure (1801-1809), work on the White House was completed by the architect Benjamin Latrobe. A terrace and pavilions were added on each side.

A Jefferson grandchild was the first baby born in the White House. The first wedding occurred during the administration of James MADISON  (1809-1817). The bride was a sister of DOLLEY MADISON , who later saved the Stuart portrait of Washington, which she removed before British troops burned the mansion in 1814. Only the charred exterior walls survived, but the White House was rebuilt and was reoccupied in 1817.

In the ensuing years, the mansion has undergone frequent redecoration and renovation. The North and South porticos were erected in the 1820s. New heating and plumbing systems were installed in the 1850s, as was a stove--previously, cooking was done in open fireplaces. A conservatory was built in the Buchanan years. In 1873, during the GRANT  administration, rotting timbers and falling ceilings led to a major renovation.

The first telephone was installed during the tenure of Rutherford B. HAYES </presidents/ea/bios/19phaye.html> (1877-1881). His wife--called Lemonade Lucy because she did not permit liquor to be served--instituted the annual Easter egg-rolling on the White House lawn. Chester ARTHUR  was president when the first elevator was put in. Electricity came during the Benjamin HARRISON  administration (1889-1893). Mrs. Harrison, who was afraid to turn off the lights for fear of shocks, began the now-famous White 

House china collection.
With the arrival of Theodore ROOSEVELT  and his six exuberant children in 1901, it became clear that the first family required more room and more privacy. Consequently, the presidential offices on the second floor were converted into additional family space, and the new West Wing offices were constructed. More family rooms were added on the third floor in the late 1920s.

During the TRUMAN  administration, the entire mansion was discovered to be perilously close to collapse. Instead of razing the house altogether, the historic exterior walls were shored up while the interior was gutted then rebuilt over the next four years (1948-1952) with as much original material as possible. President Truman was criticized for having a balcony built on the second-floor level of the South portico, but it has been a favorite spot for presidential families ever since.

The concept of the White House as a repository for authentic antiques and fine paintings is relatively recent. Mrs. John F. KENNEDY  sought contributions from private individuals when she redecorated the mansion. Subsequent first ladies have followed her lead. Lyndon JOHNSON  established the Committee for the Preservation of the White House with a permanent office of curator. 
Today some 1.5 million visitors tour the White House annually and see rooms furnished with items of both artistic and historical significance.

Kenneth W. Leish
Author of The White House 
For Further Reading
Aikman, Lonnelle, The Living White House, 9th ed. (White House Hist. Assn. 1991)
Caroli, Betty B., Inside the White House: America's Most Famous Home, the First 200 Years (Abbeville Press 1994)
Leish, Kenneth W., The White House (Newsweek 1972)
Seale, William, The White House: The History of an American Idea (AIA Press 1992)
The White House, The White House: An Historic Guide, 17th ed. (White House Hist. Assn. 1991)