Welcome to the working office and the home of the President of the United States; the
White House. Located on the now famous 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House has been
the seat of the US Presidential family for more than 200 years and has become a symbol
for the United States and its ruling government. The history of the White House dates back
to 1790, when George Washington signed the Residence Act of 1790, which placed the government
of the United States in Washington DC. With this, a new residence for the president had
to be built. A design competition was arranged which won by an Irish-born architect named
James Hoban, who beat the other eight competitors with his practical and handsome design. Being
a true Irishman, Hoban's design was inspired by the Leinster House in Dublin, Ireland,
which later became the seat of the Irish parliament. Washington himself wasn't however totally
satisfied with Hoban's plans. Washington though the building was too small to be the home
for the head of the new nation. As a reaction to this, Hoban enlarged the building with
30 percent. The foundation stone of the White House was
laid in 1792 and the first residents, the second US president John Adams with family,
moved in eight years later. The White House has been the home for the US presidents ever
since. When the third president, Thomas Jefferson, moved into the house in 1801, he had the house
expanded outward by creating two colonnades which were meant to serve as stables and storage.
Today, these colonnades connect the west- and the east wing with the main residential
building. Rumors have it that Jefferson, also being a skilled architect, was one of the
eight architects got beaten by Hoban for the main design of the White House.
During The War of 1812 against the British, the White House was set on fire by the British
after a successful attack on Washington DC. The fire destroyed much of the interior and
damaged the exterior. The repairation project became a question of national pride, and the
building was quickly repaired and began to serve its purpose once again in 1817.
As the White House by then was open to the general public, crowdning within the executive
residence itself became a problem during the late 19th century. To solve this, the First
Lady Caronline Harrison proposed extensions to the White House, including a National Wing
on the east for an historical art gallery, and a wing on the west for official functions.
With the edition of the classic Oval Office a few years later, the West Wing became the
official office building for the president and his staff. The East Wing of today was
built during the Second World War in order to hide the construction of an underground
bunker to be used in emergency situations. Throughout the history, the White House has
been subject for several smaller renovation projects and fire in the West Wing in 1929
caused futher needs for repairs. All the restoration projects and expantions of the White House
took its toll on the old building's wooden frame. This forced a major renovation in the
mid 20th century, known as the "Truman renovation", where almost all the interior was renovated
and the wooden frame was replaced with a reinforced steel frame. As a means of preserving the
history of the White House, no substantive architectural changes have been made on the
main house since the Truman renovation. Every presidential family has made some changes
to their private quarters of the White House, but changes to the State Rooms must all be
approved by a special committee. Today, the White House is a complex of buildings
including the Executive Residence, the home of the presidental family. Connected to the
main building by the western colonnade is the West Wing; the location of the Oval Office
and the the offical office building. On the other side we have the East Wing which includes
the office of the First Lady and White House Social Secretary. The East Wing also holds
the bunker, known as the Presidental Emergency Operation Center. The complex is massive.
It is made up of six stories; the Ground Floor, State Floor, Second Floor, and Third Floor,
as well as a two-story basement. The building-complex covers 5100 m² and has a total of 132 rooms.
There is also plenty of opportunities for leasure activites within the White House,
including a tennis court, jogging tracks, a swimming pool, a movie theater, and a bowling
lane. The White House is probably one of the most
famous of all US structures. In 2007, it was ranked second on the List of America's Favorite
Architecture, a testament to the popularity of the building.