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For other uses, see White House (disambiguation).

See also: Executive Office of the President of the United States and List of residences of Presidents of the United States

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The White House

WhiteHouseSouthFacade.JPG

The South Portico of the White House in May 2006.

White House is located in Washington, D.C.

Location in Washington, D.C.

General information

Architectural style
Neoclassical, Palladian

Location
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW Washington, D.C. 20500 U.S.

Coordinates
38°53′52″N 77°02′11″WCoordinates: 38°53′52″N 77°02′11″W

Current tenants
Barack Obama, President of the United States and the First Family

Construction started
October 13, 1792; 221 years ago

Design and construction

Architect
James Hoban

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. It has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800, and the term is often used by journalists as a metonym to refer to the acts of the President and his top advisors.

The house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban[1] and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia Creek sandstone in the Neoclassical style. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he (with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe) expanded the building outward, creating two colonnades that were meant to conceal stables and storage.[2]

In 1814, during the War of 1812, the mansion was set ablaze by the British Army in the Burning of Washington, destroying the interior and charring much of the exterior. Reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed Executive Residence in October 1817. Construction continued with the addition of the South Portico in 1824 and the North in 1829.

Because of crowding within the executive mansion itself, President Theodore Roosevelt had all work offices relocated to the newly constructed West Wing in 1901. Eight years later, President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and created the first Oval Office which was eventually moved as the section was expanded. The third-floor attic was converted to living quarters in 1927 by augmenting the existing hip roof with long shed dormers. A newly constructed East Wing was used as a reception area for social events; Jefferson's colonnades connected the new wings.

East Wing alterations were completed in 1946, creating additional office space. By 1948, the house's load-bearing exterior walls and internal wood beams were found to be close to failure. Under Harry S. Truman, the interior rooms were completely dismantled and a new internal load-bearing steel frame constructed inside the walls. Once this work was completed, the interior rooms were rebuilt.

Today, the White House Complex includes the Executive Residence, West Wing, East Wing, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building—the former State Department, which now houses offices for the President's staff and the Vice President—and Blair House, a guest residence.

The Executive Residence is made up of six stories—the Ground Floor, State Floor, Second Floor, and Third Floor, as well as a two-story basement. The term White House is often used as a metonym for the Executive Office of the President of the United States and for the president's administration and advisers in general, as in "The White House has decided that....". The property is a National Heritage Site owned by the National Park Service and is part of the President's Park. In 2007, it was ranked second on the American Institute of Architects list of "America's Favorite Architecture".

Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 1789–1800
1.2 Architectural competition
1.3 Design influences
1.4 Construction
1.5 Architectural description
1.6 Naming conventions

2 Evolution of the White House 2.1