As the official workplace and executive residence of the President of the United States, the White House is one of the most famous and recognizable buildings in the world. But behind its majestic neoclassical facade, the details of its construction and history are much less known. Below, find answers to six common questions about the iconic structure that has housed all but one of U.S. presidents.
Did the slaves build the White House?
The US government did not own slaves, according to the National Archives, but it paid slave owners to hire them to help build the White House. According to the White House Historical Association, Washington, DC, city commissioners originally planned to encourage European workers for construction, which began in 1792 and lasted eight years. When they got little response, they instead enlisted the labor of free and enslaved African Americans to work alongside local white laborers and artisans, as well as a handful of Europeans to build no. only the president’s house, but other government buildings such as the US Capitol. good.
James Hoban, an Irish immigrant and architect chosen by President George Washington, designed the original building. After the British set it on fire in 1814, during the War of 1812, Hoban led the effort to rebuild the structure.
READ MORE: How Many US Presidents Owned Slaves?
View of the South Facade of the White House, c. 1840s.
Stock Montage / Getty Images
Where’s the White House?
The White House is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, DC, perhaps the most famous address in the country. Armed with the Residence Act of 1790, President George Washington chose the exact location of the 10 square mile capital, on the east bank of the Potomac River and near the Capitol building. The builders laid the cornerstone of the White House on October 13, 1792, followed by the cornerstone of the Capitol shortly after August 18, 1793.
Over the years, the Executive Mansion has undergone several renovations, including major work by Theodore Roosevelt in 1902 which included the installation of electric lights. In 1948, after engineers discovered the building to be structurally unsanitary and unsafe for habitation, Harry S. Truman ordered a complete evisceration of the interior and a complete overhaul of the building’s structure and foundations. Truman and his family were living in Blair House across the street during the renovations.
WATCH: America’s Book of Secrets: The White House on HISTORY Vault.
Who was the first president to live in the White House?
Although Washington chose its location and its architect, he was the only president who never lived in the White House. President John Adams was the first to move into the residence, in 1800 before it was completed. Since then, each president and his family have lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Two presidents 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.
The plan of the main floor of the White House, drawn by FD Owen.
Library of Congress / Corbis / VCG / Getty Images
How many rooms are there in the White House?
Covering 55,000 square feet, the six-story White House has 132 rooms (16 are family rooms), as well as 35 bathrooms. According to the official White House webpage, it’s home to 28 fireplaces, eight staircases, three windows, 412 doors and 147 windows – and has a kitchen equipped to serve a full dinner for up to 140 people or hors-d’oeuvres. work for 1000 people. more visitors. What about when it gets a new coat of paint every four to six years? It takes 570 gallons to cover the exterior.
The mansion and grounds also include a now covered indoor pool, installed for Franklin D. Roosevelt, and an outdoor pool, installed by Gerald R. Ford. Other on-site facilities where the President can let off steam include a tennis court, one-lane bowling alley, small movie theater, game room, jogging track, and putting green.
There are rumors of secret rooms in the building, but, according to the White House Historical Association, the only “secret” passage is an emergency shelter built under the East Wing during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency, in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor bombing in 1941. Vice President Dick Cheney used the passage during the September 11 terrorist attacks and, The Washington Post reports that President Donald Trump was likely kidnapped there during a 2020 protest outside the White House.
According to the newspaper, at least two tunnels exist under the mansion: one connects to the Treasury building and the other leads to the south lawn.
READ MORE: The Floating White House: A Brief History of the Presidential Yacht
Has it always been called the White House?
The building’s stone exterior was first painted with a whitewash in 1798 to protect it from the elements and freezing temperatures. According to the White House Historical Association, the nickname “White House” began to appear in newspapers before the War of 1812.
But it was President Theodore Roosevelt, who in 1901 designated the official name of the US President’s residence as the White House. (Previous names included the House of Presidents, Executive Mansion, Presidential Palace, and Presidential Mansion.) It is also commonly referred to as “the House of the People.”
The main conference area of the White House situation room.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
What’s going on in the west wing?
Since Theodore Roosevelt moved his workspace from the Residence to the New West Wing in 1902, the two-story West Wing has housed the US Presidential Offices. In addition to the Oval Office, the West Wing complex includes the Situation Room, Cabinet Room, Roosevelt Room, and Press Room, among others.
The Oval Office, which has served as the President’s Office since President William Howard Taft in 1909, is actually oval in shape and includes the Resolute Oak Desk, gifted to President Rutherford B. Hayes by Queen Victoria in 1880 and made in from boards of the British Ship HMS Resolute. It has been used by almost every president since, with the exception of Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford.
The Situation Room, officially known as the John F. Kennedy Conference Room, is located in the basement of the West Wing and actually consists of several rooms. Designated in 1961 by JFK as a crisis coordination space, it was used by Johnson during the Vietnam War and it is there that President Barack Obama observed the assassination of Osama Bin Laden by the Navy SEALs.
The Cabinet Room, as the name suggests, is where the President meets with members of his cabinet, and the Roosevelt Room, where Theodore Roosevelt’s office was located, serves as a multi-purpose conference room.
Also on two floors, the East Wing, meanwhile, contains offices for the First Lady and her staff and has a covered entrance for guests at large events.
