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The White House
The White House is located at 1600 Pennsylvania
Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. Every American President since John
Adams has used the White House as his home.
It sits on 18 acres and has been
built in three sections. James Hoban designed the main section of the White House
in 1792, but the building was not completed until 1809. It measures
170 feet long and 85 feet deep. British troops burned the White
House in 1814 and only the outside walls were left. The White House was rebuilt and
finished in 1817. When Theodore Roosevelt became president
in 1901, he brought his six children with him. The White House
needed to be altered to fit his family. The
presidential offices on the second floor were made into additional
family space. The new West Wing offices were
completed in 1902 and is where the Presidential Office and the Cabinet
Room are located. The East Wing was built in 1942 and is mostly
filled with different offices.
The ground floor consists of:
- The China
Room
- The library
- The Diplomatic Reception
Room is the room where Franklin Roosevelt made his fireside
chats.
The first floor consists of:
- The East
Room is where people are greeted. Abigail Adams used to
hang her wash in this room before the White House was
finished. During the Civil War, Union troops lived in this
room.
- The Green
Room was used by Thomas Jefferson as a dining room.
- The Blue
Room overlooks the grounds on the South.
- The Red
Room is used as a parlor or sitting room.
- The State
Dining Room where dinners are served today when important
people meet with the President.
The second floor consists of:
- The Lincoln
Bedroom is where the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
- The Queen's
Bedroom is where visiting royalty stay when coming to see the
President.
- The Treaty
Room where important treaties have been signed.
White House
Firsts
- A grandchild of Thomas
Jefferson was the first baby born
in the White House.
- The first wedding took place
during the presidency of James Madison.
- The first telephone was installed
when Rutherford B. Hayes was president.
- President Hayes' wife was the
first one to hold the 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's presidency.
- In 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt
first called his home the
White House.
When Harry S. Truman was
President, the White House was in need of rebuilding. The
outer walls were reinforced. The inside of the White House was
totally rebuilt. This was the first
major restoration since it was burned by the British in 1814. President Truman had the first balcony built on the
second floor and many presidents have enjoyed it ever since. - Jacqueline Kennedy, the wife of
John F. Kennedy, was the first to collect pieces of art and furniture from
other presidencies and to display them in the White House. Now
that is the work of all First Ladies. President Lyndon B.
Johnson established the Committee for the Preservation of the White House
so that this important work will continue.
Interesting Facts
-
The White House has 132 rooms, 32 bathrooms, and 6 different floors for all the people who live and
work there.
- There are 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 7 staircases, and 3
elevators.
- There is a
tennis court, a jogging track, a swimming pool, a movie, theater, a billiards
room and a bowling alley.
- The White House has been called the
President's Palace, the President's House,
and the Executive Mansion.
- There about 6,000 people who
visit the White House each day.
- The kitchen can serve dinner
to 140 guests and can prepare hors d'oeuvres for 1,000 people.
- Five chefs prepare meals for
the President, his family and guests.
- It takes 570 gallons of paint
to paint the outside of the White House.
Copyright © 2003. All Rights Reserved
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