The White House: Everything You Need to Know About the US Presidents Residence

Table Of Content

• Panasonic’s Stormtrooper-Inspired Electric Shaver Is On Sale for the ‘May the 4th’ Star Wars Holiday
• Investing in the American People
• East Wing
• A Proclamation on Education and Sharing Day, USA, 2024
• Statement from President Joe Biden on 25 Years Since the Columbine High School Shooting
• Who was the first president to live in the White House?

Jefferson drafted a planting plan for the North lawn that included large trees that would have mostly obscured the house from Pennsylvania Avenue. During the mid- to late-nineteenth century a series of ever larger greenhouses were built on the west side of the house, where the current West Wing is located. During this period the north lawn was planted with ornate "carpet style" flower beds. Although the White House grounds have had many gardeners through their history, the general design, still largely used as masterplan today, was designed in 1935 by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. of the Olmsted Brothers firm, under commission from President Franklin D. Roosevelt. 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.

Panasonic’s Stormtrooper-Inspired Electric Shaver Is On Sale for the ‘May the 4th’ Star Wars Holiday

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. Burned to the ground by the British in August 1814, the President’s House was nearly left in its smoldering remains as lawmakers contemplated moving the capital to another city. Instead, Hoban was brought back to rebuild it nearly from scratch, in some areas incorporating the original, charred walls.

Investing in the American People

The Roosevelt renovation was planned and carried out by the famous New York architectural firm McKim, Mead and White. Roosevelt’s successor, President William Howard Taft, had the Oval Office constructed within an enlarged office wing. Throughout history, the White House has been attacked on various occasions and suffered damage. The first ever damage was inflicted by British troops in 1814 where they not only burnt down Washington but also the White House and other federal buildings like the capitol.

East Wing

The two-story East Wing houses the office spaces of the first lady and her staff. William Taft hired architect Nathan Wyeth to expand the executive wing in 1909, resulting in the formation of the Oval Office as the president’s work space. In 1913, the White House added another enduring feature with Ellen Wilson’s Rose Garden. A fire during the Hoover administration in 1929 destroyed the executive wing and led to more renovations, which continued after Franklin Roosevelt entered office.

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Jefferson also drafted a planting plan for the North Lawn that included large trees that would have mostly obscured the house from Pennsylvania Avenue. During the mid-to-late 19th century a series of ever larger greenhouses were built on the west side of the house, where the current West Wing is located. During this period, the North Lawn was planted with ornate carpet-style flowerbeds. The office in which the president works is not located in the White House proper.

Some members of the president's staff are located in the adjacent Old Executive Office Building in the former State War and Navy Building, sometimes known as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Few people realize the size of the White House, since much of it is below ground or otherwise minimized by landscaping. Two colonnades, one on the east and the west, were designed by Jefferson connect the residence to the West Wing and the East Wing. The residence houses the president's home, and rooms for ceremonies and official entertaining.

A Proclamation on Education and Sharing Day, USA, 2024

White House presses agencies to use apprenticeships for skills-based hiring - Federal News Network

White House presses agencies to use apprenticeships for skills-based hiring.

Posted: Wed, 06 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

The State Floor of the residence building includes the East Room, Green Room, Blue Room, Red Room and State Dining Room. The third floor family residence includes the Yellow Oval Room, East and West Sitting Halls, the president's dining room, the Treaty Room, Lincoln Bedroom and Quenns Bedroom. George Washington did not enjoy the comforts of the famous house after he was inaugurated in 1789 because there was no capital city nor official residence.

After the passing of the Residence Act, Philadelphia was the temporary capital where President George Washington stayed as the federal city was being built. Construction of the White House began after deliberations by the federal authorities and a design competition that determined the look of the White House. 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.

Who was the first president to live in the White House?

The first floor of the Residence, also called the State Floor, features the State Dining Room, the great East Room, and three salons named for their predominating color—the Green, Red, and Blue rooms. Later, the closure was extended an additional block to the east to 15th Street, and East Executive Drive, a small street between the White House and the Treasury Building was closed to the public. Public tours were suspended in the wake of the events of September 11, 2001. The name "Executive Mansion" was often used in official context until President Theodore Roosevelt established the formal name by having the de facto name "White House–Washington" engraved on the stationery in 1901. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt changed his letterhead to "The White House" with the word "Washington" centered beneath, a convention that remains today. Construction began with the laying of the cornerstone on October 13, 1792.

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 East Wing was built during World War II in order to hide the construction of an underground bunker to be used in emergencies. The bunker has come to be known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center. 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. In addition to the Oval Office, the West Wing complex includes the Situation Room, Cabinet Room, Roosevelt Room and press briefing room, among others.

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. Thomas Jefferson added his own personal touches upon moving in a few months later, installing two water closets and working with architect Benjamin Latrobe to add bookending terrace-pavilions. Having transformed the building into a more suitable representation of a leader’s home, Jefferson held the first inaugural open house in 1805, and also opened its doors for public tours and receptions on New Year’s Day and the Fourth of July. 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. During the Kennedy administration, the White House Rose Garden was redesigned by Rachel Lambert Mellon.

During the War of 1812 the British burned the building, and President James Madison and his family were forced to flee the city. The architect, Hoban, reconstructed and expanded the house starting in 1815. President James Monroe and his family were the first to occupy the reconstructed mansion, moving there in December 1817.

In addition, there are 3 elevators, 28 fireplaces, 147 windows, 8 stairs, and 412 doors. The White House kitchen has the capacity to serve supper to up to 140 guests and hors d'oeuvres to more than 1,000 people. The White House has variously been referred to as the "President's Palace," the "President's House," and the "Executive Mansion" throughout history. President Theodore Roosevelt first bestowed the White House’s current name to it in 1901. This map shows the location of the White House and the surrounding area with icons marking the closest metro stations and parking garages.

White House calls selection of FBI HQ location fair and transparent - NBC Washington

White House calls selection of FBI HQ location fair and transparent.

Posted: Thu, 09 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Moreover, the wages of all White House employees—as well as the expenses for running the White House, including staging official functions—were paid for by the president. Not until 1909 did Congress provide appropriations to pay White House servants. White House, the official office and residence of the president of the United States at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. In Washington, D.C. It is perhaps the most famous and easily recognizable house in the world, serving as both the home and workplace of the president and the headquarters of the president’s principal staff members. The White House became one of the first wheelchair-accessible government buildings in Washington, D.C.

Later, the closure was extended an additional block to the east to 15th Street, and East Executive Avenue, a small street between the White House and the Treasury Building. The Eighth Circuit “runs roughshod” over the right of defendants to move a case to a different court and allows plaintiffs to “engage in a new form of federal-state forum shopping that disrupts orderly case management,” the pet food companies said in their appeal to the justices. The Eighth Circuit then agreed that the elimination of federally related claims prevented the ability of federal courts to hear the case. Wullschleger then narrowed her claims to remove any reference to federal law, hoping to get the case sent back to state court.