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And, like the presidency itself, the home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Indeed, the elegant porticoed mansion we see today looks very different from the austere porch-less Georgian-style house designed over two hundred years ago. Some people might wonder if the US vice president also lives at the White House. Until the 1900s, the vice president actually lived at his private residence, which was not unexpected due to the few duties of the position.
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Despite the building being modernized for innovations like the Internet and Wi-Fi, most presidents since 1880 have used the Resolute desk, which was given as a gift by Queen Elizabeth from the wood of the H.M.S. Resolute. The ship had been rescued and given back to Britain by the United States. Incoming presidents typically redecorate the Oval Office according to their individual tastes, often selecting historic artifacts from previous administrations to reinstate. Construction began in October of 1792 with the laying of the first cornerstone. The building was constructed between 1792 and 1800 using Aquia sandstone from the Government Island quarry (also a supplier of stone for the exterior of the US Capitol), bricks made in kilns near the site, and lumber from forests in Maryland and Virginia.
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Aside from the porticos, the main building of the White House remained largely unchanged until 1902. Despite all his tweaks, Jefferson did not change the appearance of the house substantially. Although this was not the residence that he would have built himself, he recognized it as part of George Washington’s legacy and saw the need for continuity. Sensitivity to this sort of symbolism was to characterize the presidents who lived in the White House from that time on.
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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. 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. Located at the country’s most well-known address, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in Washington, DC, the White House is America’s most iconic home.
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As was the case in many large homes, the domestic duties were carried out in the basement. America's presidential home has seen extensive remodeling inside and outside since these plans were presented. One of the most obvious changes happened during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson between 1801 and 1809.
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It was almost immediately reconstructed, and a semi-circular South portico and North portico were added a while later. Because of overcrowding, Roosevelt had all work offices relocated to the newly-constructed West Wing in 1901. Located in Washington, DC, the White House has witnessed some of the most pivotal moments in US history. It was built over two hundred years ago, opening in 1800, and has since evolved from a striking neoclassical structure to an elaborate complex of some 132 rooms spread over 55,000 square feet. The second president of the United States, John Adams, moved into the still-unfinished presidential mansion on November 1, 1800. The White House is the official office and residence of the president of the United States.
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Historians Are Searching For Stories Of Enslaved People Who Built The White House.
Posted: Fri, 02 Jul 2021 07:00:00 GMT [source]
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After Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, Inaugural crowds became far toolarge for the White House to accommodate them comfortably. However, not untilGrover Cleveland’s first presidency did this unsafe practice change. Heheld a presidential review of the troops from a flag-draped grandstand built infront of the White House.
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Then, Britain struck back the following year with an invasion of America’s coast. 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.
Renovations
A sentry box, or security guard post, was added in 1894 for the first time. Running water was added to the mansion in 1833, including a pump to get water to the second floor. The 1840s saw additions of natural gas to the White House, providing centralized heat and replacing candles with gas lights.
The basement, which is now the ground floor, was reserved for all the service staff, cooks, laundry, and other cleaning rooms. The construction of a mansion for the president’s family and his staff was approved when Congress established the District of Columbia as the permanent capital of the United States on July 16, 1790. 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 contest to find a builder produced a winning design from Irish-born architect James Hoban, who modeled his building after an Anglo-Irish villa in Dublin called the Leinster House. The practice continued until 1885, when newly elected Grover Cleveland arranged for a presidential review of the troops from a grandstand in front of the White House instead of the traditional open house. President Bill Clinton briefly revived the New Year's Day open house in his first term. 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.
Yet another disaster struck in 1929 when a fire swept through the West Wing. Then, after World War II, the two main floors of the building were gutted and completely renovated. For most of his presidency, Harry Truman was not able to live in the house. For the first five years of independence from Britain, beginning in 1783, the US only had a Congress under its original governing document. This document, the Articles of Confederation, had no position of chief executive.
From the beginning, it was recognized that the mansion lacked the space needed for all the functions a head of state must perform. This led the mansion’s second occupant, Thomas Jefferson, to propose expanding it by constructing two extensions to the east and west to connect the president’s house with adjacent office buildings. The south and north porticoes of the building were added in 1824 and 1829, respectively, while John Quincy Adams introduced the residence’s first flower garden. Subsequent administrations continued to revise and reinforce the interior through Congressional allocations.
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