From its origins, to its impact, to the key moments that helped define it, and more!
Join me as I reveal to you 10 things you didn't know about the White House!
10. Who Built It In terms of United States landmarks,
few hold the "power" and "sway" like that of the White House. It is a monument to freedom
and within its walls freedom is (usually) maintained and fought for. The President
of the United States, whomever they may be when elected, goes into that sacred building.
But, while it is a very special building,
how it actually got constructed was not the best moment in American history.
Because while it is tied to the Presidents, it wasn't around when the first President (George
Washington) became President. It was built in 1792 and finished by 1800...by slave owners.
To be clear, the US government did not own slaves but they hired those that did to do the work.
Originally, the plan was to get people from Europe to construct it not unlike they did
the Statue of Liberty. But they didn't get the response they wanted and so the work order went
out and both laborers, freed slaves, and actual slaves went and built the first White House.
Yes, the FIRST White House. James Hoban, an Irish immigrant and architect hand-picked by President
George Washington, designed the original building and helped make it what it was. But then, the War
of 1812 happened and the English burned the White House to the ground. As such, Hoban came to build
the second one, and it's that one that stands today on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C.
9. Location and Renovation It might surprise you to learn
that when it comes to building a major monument, especially one of such importance as the White
House, the location of the building is just as important, if not more important, than actually
making the dang building. Look at the history of the Lincoln Memorial and you'll see what we mean.
But in the case of the White House it's located on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the land that
houses it was personally selected by George Washington himself. Further adding to its
wonder if you will that the first President helped ensure the future President's 'home' had a place.
Now, while you can very easily look at the White House today and see it as a "sound building",
it wasn't always that way. And it didn't always look as it did now. When it was first built (and
then built again as noted) it was much smaller. Various Presidents over time renovated and
expanded the building, including Teddy Roosevelt who put electric lights within the building.
When Harry Truman was President the building was stated to be "structurally unsound" and thus the
whole interior and exterior was overhauled to be in line with more recent building codes.
Fast forward to today and occasionally renovations are still made to the building,
including certain security features that we'll be talking about later.
So in a way, the White House is very much like America in that it changes, grows, expands and
alters itself to suit who is there at the time. 8. Who Was There First?
No doubt after hearing some of the facts we've dropped you're asking the question of who was the
first President to truly live in the White House. The answer to that is NOT George Washington.
Yes, he was the President who spurred things into motion, and selected the site for the building,
but he never got to live in it. It was finished just after his time as President (for two terms
if you recall). Which meant the first President to live there was actually the 2nd President
in John Adams. But ever since then, the President has lived in the White House in its various forms.
Two presidents have also died in the White House: William Henry Harrison in 1841 and Zachary Taylor
in 1850, as well as three first ladies, Letitia Tyler, Caroline Harrison and Ellen Wilson.
It puts a bit of a wrinkle on things, doesn't it? Because you'd think that
all of them would've been in the White House but that simply wasn't the case.
7. The Layout Of The White House From both up close and afar,
the White House is a very impressive structure of incredible size and depth. And because of that,
it's a bit hard to judge just how much is in there. Sure, when you look at shows like The West
Wing or Madam Secretary you see certain things like the Oval Office and certain areas only the
President can go to. But do you know how big the actual White House actually is and all that's in
it? Because the numbers are quite shocking. According to History:
"At 55,000 square feet, the six-floor White House boasts 132 rooms (16 are family guest rooms),
along with 35 bathrooms. According to the official White House web page, it’s home to 28 fireplaces,
eight staircases, three elevators, 412 doors and 147 windows—and has a kitchen equipped to serve
full dinner for up to 140 guests, or hors d'oeuvres for 1,000-plus visitors."
That last part makes sense as the White House many times hosts parties,
galas for dignitaries and more. Some of the "additions" that were made to
the outside were an indoor and outdoor pool made by two different Presidents.
Other on-site facilities where the president can let off some steam: a tennis court,
one-lane bowling alley, small movie theater, game room, jogging track and putting green.
Naturally, there are a ton of rumors about "secrets rooms" and tunnels
but "officially" there is only one that is used to get the heads of staff to safety.
Like in 9/11 when Dick Cheney was noted to have taken a secret tunnel to get to a safe house.
Still, it's an impressive amount of space for the building. Though there are some questions that
many people still want answered... 6. The West Wing
Given the importance of the White House, it's natural that a lot of things would have to get
done within the building, and as such, Teddy Roosevelt in 1902 moved his work station to the
now famous West Wing. It's here that much of the President and his staff's work gets done.
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. Some of these areas are even accurately depicted
in shows like "The West Wing". For example, The Situation Room as it is known is in the basement
of the building and is where the President meets with heads of various divisions and departments
to talk about certain key events in the world that need the President's attention without onlookers.
So yes, some of what you see on television is honestly true.
5. No Freebies You might have
known this, but the President has a personal chef that cooks his meals,
and you might think that being the "leader of the free world" means that he gets his meals for free,
as well as other things like toiletries as they can't go and get it themselves.
Wrong. Every month, the President gets a bill for everything they "bought" and it's deducted from
their annual salary. Which is $300,000 a year just so you know, so they're still coming out ahead.
4. There Is No "Red Phone" In movies and TV shows,
the President is shown to have a "red phone" to connect with certain people. Mainly Russia.
It's a great visual! But it never existed. Rather, when the Cuban Missile Crisis happened,
President John F Kennedy went and established a "hotline" with Russian Premier Khrushchev
via teletype. It took 10 months to get to work and it was never a phone.
Eventually, regular phones were used to connect with any foreign leader.
3. Moving In, Moving Out Have you ever wondered what
happens when a new President gets elected and has to move into the White House? The answer is:
a lot. Not only do they have to staff everyone in the building that they feel they need
(including secretaries, cabinet members and so on) the President has to go and pick out the items,
furniture and other items to decorate both the executive mansion and the Oval Office. This
process is said to be so special that there is a literal warehouse where the President and their
partner can go and pick out all the things they want. There's even official decorators to help
"paint a picture" of what they (and potentially their children) can have in their rooms.
On Inauguration Day, the moment that the sitting President leaves the White House for the final
time, a fleet of workers come in and remove all the remaining items in the Oval Office
and other rooms and then replace them with the items that the President-Elect wanted.
They have mere hours to make the White House fit the "new tenants",
but they do it, and they do it fast. 2. What Is In A Name?
When you hear the words "White House", you know exactly what to picture,
even if you get some of the details wrong. The name "The White House" is ingrained in everyone's
mind in the US and even beyond as it's where the President lives. But here's the question, was it
always called The White House? No, no it wasn't. Rather, when it was made, something that was put
on the outer coat of paint was a lime-based whitewash. It was intended to go and help
protect the place from the freezing elements. It was the media believe it or not who started
to circulate the phrase "White House" and it wasn't until Teddy Roosevelt came along that he
officially dubbed the place, "The White House". Previous names included the Presidents' House,
the Executive Mansion, the Presidential Palace and the Presidential Mansion.
While many of those names are fine, there's just something about "The White House"
that makes it stick. 1. It's REALLY Secure
The White House is where the President, his family, and his staff works and mostly
resides. And as such, you'd be right with thinking that the place is a fortress that
few could ever hope to get into. But just how deep does that security go?
On the outside, any pictures or photos you've seen of the White House shows
a gate just outside it. That gate is able to take the force of a vehicle crashing into it.
And there are guards and Secret Service men on the grounds if you somehow get around that.
If you desire a more 'subtle approach' like poisoning his food...you wouldn't make it
to his table. Why? Because all food that is brought into the White House is scanned and
tested (for poison) offsite to ensure that nothing untoward gets inside the building.
Want to tackle this by air? No good. The White House has a personal radar system
that can detect if anything gets too close to it, and the airspace above the White House is
restricted, so flying over it is actually a crime. Even if you made it into the White House itself,
there is actually a secret area for the President to go to in case of a breach
that you will never get to as noted upon earlier. And the President would get the
warning to go there LONG before said attacker ever found them. Remember, the place is huge.
So in short, the place is well-protected, and even if someone found a loophole in all of that,
they'd still likely fail and then said "hole" would be sealed.
Thanks for watching! What did you think of this look at the White House and the various facts
and figures you might not have known about it. Did you know some of these things before coming
to watch our video? Do you think it's interesting some of the history that doesn't get talked about
in regards to the White House? Have you ever been to see the White House for yourself, and if so,
what did you think of it? Let us know in the comments below,
be sure to subscribe and we'll see you next time on the channel!