White House

The White House (in English: the White House) is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States.

The project was devised by George Washington and built in 1790 under the direction of Irish-born architect James Hoban, in the Neoclassical style. President Washington, together with the city's architect, Pierre Charles L'Enfant, chose the site where it would be built. Through a competition, the architect, a native of Dublin, was chosen, who won the gold medal for the presentation of the design that we know today.

The design of the White House was inspired by Leinster House (Dublin), and Castletown House (Celbridge), both following the style of Palladianism.

As its name indicates, it is a white building located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (Pennsylvania Avenue) in northwest Washington D.C.. Designed during George Washington's first term, the building was inaugurated by John Adams in 1800. Formally, the building received the names of the Presidential Palace, the Executive Mansion, until President Theodore Roosevelt, in 1902, proposed to Congress that it officially adopt the name of "The House White».

History

Construction

Plant of the main floor of the White House, by Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1807).

On October 13, 1792, construction began with the laying of the first stone, laid by Georgetown mayor Pedro Casanave, a Spanish emigrant of Navarre origin.

Initial construction took place over an eight-year period, with a reported cost of $232,371.83 at the time ($2.4 million in 2005 dollars). Although still unfinished, the White House was ready for occupancy around November 1, 1800. When construction was complete, the porous sandstone walls were covered with a mixture of lime, rice glue, casein, and lead, giving the house its family color and name.

The early years, fire of 1812, reconstruction

John Adams was the first president to take up residence in the White House on November 1, 1800. On the second day of his stay he wrote a letter to his wife Abigail, which contained a prayer for the house. Adams wrote:

I pray to Heaven to give the best blessings to this house, and to all who dwell in it. I hope only wise and honest men will always rule under this roof.

The Western Column of Jefferson is seen on the left of the residence in this 19th century engraving. Originally it helped to cover up a stable and a laundry room. He later became President Roosevelt's pool. President Nixon turned the place into the current press room.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the Adams blessing to be carved on the mantelpiece of the State Dining Room. Adams lived in the house for a short time, and it was soon occupied by President Thomas Jefferson, who planned to enlarge the residence. With the help of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, he helped draft the design for the East and West Colonnades, small wings that helped conceal buildings that housed laundry rooms, a stable, and a storeroom. Today the Jefferson Colonnades link the residence to the East and West Wings.

During the War of 1812, much of Washington was burned down by British troops in revenge for burning the Parliament Buildings in Upper Canada (present-day Ontario), leaving the White House in ruins. The interior of the mansion was destroyed, with only the exterior walls remaining, and they had to be torn down and later rebuilt due to weakening caused by the fire and subsequent exposure to the elements, except for portions of the south wall. A legend arose as a result of the reconstruction of the structure, which said that white paint was used to hide the damage caused by the fire, giving the building its name. This is unfounded, since the building had already been painted white since its construction in 1798. Of all the items looted from the White House during the war, only two have been recovered: a painting of George Washington, salvaged by the then first lady Dolley Madison as she escaped from the mansion, and a box of jewelry, which was returned to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1939 by a Canadian who said his grandfather had taken it.

The need for more space: the West Wing

At the time of the American Civil War, the White House was packed. Some also complained about the location of the White House, just north of a canal and swamps, which were prime conditions for contracting malaria and other diseases. Brigadier General Nathaniel Michler was asked to propose solutions to address these problems. He proposed to abandon the White House as a residence, and use it only as an office; he proposed a new palace for the first family, in Meridian Hill Park in Washington, but the plan was rejected by Congress.

In 1891, First Lady Caroline Harrison proposed additions to the White House, which included a National Wing on the east for an art gallery, and a wing on the West for official functions. A project was designed by Colonel Theodore A. Bingham, which reflected Harrison's plan. In 1901, Theodore Roosevelt and his large family moved into the White House, which they found too small. Three architects, McKim, Mead & White, were contracted to carry out renovations and expansion, including the west wing. The first family spent four months of 1902 in a temporary residence at 22 Jackson Place. By 1909, President William Taft required more space so architect Nathan C. Wyeth was hired to add more space in the West Wing, which included the installation of the Oval Office.

The Harry Truman reconstruction

Truman Reconstruction, 1949-1952. First the wood and beams were dismantled and stored, then a steel structure was built inside the original walls. The interior spaces, with most of the original decoration and floor, were reconstructed within the new structure.

Decades of poor maintenance and the construction of a fourth story during President Calvin Coolidge's administration took a toll on the brick and sandstone structure built on wood frames. In 1948, the house became so unstable that President Harry Truman abandoned it, moving to Blair House, between 1949 and 1951.

The reconstruction, carried out by Philadelphia-based contractor John McShain, required the complete disassembly of the interior spaces, the construction of a new internal steel frame, and the reconstruction of the original rooms within the new structure. Some modifications were made, by enlarging and repositioning the central stairway so that it opened to the Entrance Hall, instead of the Central Hall. Central air conditioning was added, and two additional secondary basements were added to provide space for work rooms, storage rooms, and a bomb shelter. The Truman family moved back into the White House on March 27, 1952. Although the house was saved by Truman's reconstruction, much of the interior furnishings was of little historical value. Most of the original plasterwork was too damaged to be reinstalled, such as the robust Beaux Arts wainscoting in the East Room. President Truman had had the original wooden beams preserved. The walls of the Vermeil Room, the Library, the China Room, and the Map Room on the floor of the main residence were clad with wood from these beams.

The Kennedy Restoration

The Red Room designed by Stéphane Boudin during the administration of John F. Kennedy in the American Empire style.

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of President John Kennedy, led the mansion's most extensive and historic redecoration in its history. Henry Francis du Pont of the Winterthur, Delaware, museum chaired a committee to restore the home's furnishings and art. The investigation was planned on the use and decoration of the main rooms. Various historical periods were selected as the theme for each site: the Federal Style for the Green Room; French Empire for the Blue Room; American Empire for the Red Room; Louis XVI style for the Yellow Oval Room; and Victorian style for the president's study, renamed the Treaty Room. Antique furniture was purchased, and decorative fabrics based on documents from each period were commissioned. Many of the Kennedy period antiques, paintings, and other improvements were donated to the White House by wealthy patrons, including the Crowninshield family, Jane Engelhard, Jayne Wrightsman, and the Oppenheimer family. Kennedy's restoration produced a luxurious White House with an appearance close to that of European nobility, and reminiscent of the French taste of Presidents Madison and Monroe.

Much of the French style came from the interior decorator Stéphane Boudin, of the firm Maison Jansen, a design house in Paris, the same firm that had designed the decorations for the palaces of Elsie de Wolfe, Mrs. Olive Baillie, the royal families of Belgium and Iran, the German Reichsbank during the Nazi period and Leeds Castle in Kent. The first tourist guide to the Mansion was published under the direction of the curator Lorena Waxman Pearce, with the direct supervision of Jacqueline Kennedy. Sales of the guidebooks helped finance the restoration.

White House Preservation Committee

The White House from the gardens.

Over time, Kennedy's Fine Arts Advisory Committee gave rise to a congressionally chartered body, the White House Preservation Committee, whose mission is to maintain the building's historic integrity. The committee works with the First Family, usually represented by the first lady, the White House curator, and the chief usher. Each presidential family has made some changes to the family rooms, but all changes to the State Rooms must be approved by the White House Preservation Committee. During the Nixon administration, First Lady Pat Nixon restored the Green Room, Blue Room, and Red Room, working with Clement Conger. During the 1990s, under President Clinton, some rooms were restored by Arkansas decorator Kaki Hockersmith. The East Room, Blue Room, State Dining Room, and Lincoln Living Room were restored. A recent restoration of the Lincoln Bedroom, begun during the Clinton administration, was completed during the George W. Bush tenure.

September 11, 2001

The original plan for the attacks of September 11, 2001 was to hijack 12 planes, one of which was going to hit the White House. Later they realized that the operation was unreachable, since there were too many objectives, so the objectives were reduced to 5. But one of the targets was still the White House, as it represented the presidential power of the United States. But Zacarias Moussaoui (the terrorist who was to pilot the fifth plane) was detained by the FBI on August 16, 2001, due to immigration charges. So they finally narrowed down to 4 targets and the one they removed was the White House.

The residence

The original residence is in the downtown area of the White House, in the building between the two colonnades, designed by Jefferson, that now serve to connect the offices located in the East Wing and West Wing. The executive residence is where the president lives, as well as the rooms used for state ceremonies and official entertainment. The State floor of the residence includes the East room, the Green room, the Blue room, the Red room, the State dining room, the Family dining room, the Halls and the Grand Staircase. The ground floor is made up of the Oval Diplomats Room (used as a reception room), the Map Room, the China Room, the Vermeil Room, the Presidential Library, the main kitchen, and other offices. On the second floor is the family residence. It includes the Yellow Oval Room (which opens onto the Truman Balcony) and several bedrooms, including the Master Bedroom, the Lincoln Bedroom, the Queens Bedroom, as well as two other bedrooms, a kitchenette, and a private dressing room. The third floor of the White House consists of a solarium (tanning center), game room, linen room, a kitchen and another lounge.

West Wing

At the beginning of the 20th century, new buildings were built on both sides of the mansion, to accommodate the president's workers. The West Wing is a building with three main floors and several underground levels, where the Office of the President, the Oval Office ( The Oval Office ) and the offices of the important members of his Administration are located.. It also includes a room for the meetings of his Presidential Cabinet (Cabinet Room) and the Situation Room (Situation Room). Outside, there's the White House Rose Garden, historically used as a place for both formal and informal gatherings.

The other members of the Executive Branch, including the Vice President, who work for the President, have their offices in a building located to the west of the West Wing of the White House, called the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (Eisenhower Executive Office Building ), and each cabinet secretariat, have their own departmental administrative buildings.

East Wing

The East Wing is a two-story structure on the eastern side of the Executive Residence, of the White House. The East Wing houses the offices of the First Lady, and her Social Secretary also receive personal mail, and other White House staff have offices here. The East Wing also includes the White House Theater, the visitor center at its entrance, and the East Columns, a corridor that connects the body of the West Wing to the residence. In front of the colonnade is the garden called, Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, passing the walk of the columns one enters the ground floor of the White House residence.

Structure

Very few people realize the true size of the White House, since a good part of it is distributed in the basement, and this is covered by the trees in the garden. The White House has:

• 6 floors and 5100 m2 (55 000 ft2.).
• 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms on the two floors above.
• 412 doors.
• 147 windows.
• 28 chimneys.
• 60 stairs.
• 7 elevators.