Oh, That White House!

Our People's House has been a part of our history for over 200 years. Our first President, George Washington, chose the site where it was to be built. Mr. Jamnes Hoban won the 500 dollar prize and was commissioned to design the President's House (later known as the White House.)

John Adams was the first President to live in the White House in June1800. It was not completed and Mrs. Adams wrote to her daughter that there was no bell to summon servants, no firewood for heat as people could not be found to go into the forest to cut trees and cart in the wood. The grounds were filled with old kilns, water filled pits for brickmaking, sheds for supplies, a stonecutter's shack, rubbish and mud. She told her daughter not to share with anyone her displeasure. The building was completed on November, 1, 1800.

President Jefferson was the first President to live in the House his entire first term.He hired Benjamin Henry Latrobe to fix the leaking East Wing roof and wall damage. Mr. Latrobe used sheet iron for the repairs. The White House is made of sandstone, which is porous so it was whitewashed.

Then the British came along and burned the President's House down on August 24, 1814. .A summer downpour finally put out the fire.By 1817 the White House was again livable.Twelve new fireplaces were added.The building was painted white in 1818. It was known as the President's House or the Executive House.

James Monroe entered the residence and installed gas lights in 1849.

Running water from the city's system happened with Jackson.

President Harrison's wife ordered the green mold caused by faulty plumbing scrubbed off old walls and had layers of rotting floorboards taken out of the ground floor and replaced.

During Andrew Johnson's time the Commission of Public Buildings found that a large ceiling section had collapsed and almost all the ceilings were cracked and some cracks were several inches. The basement was very damp and unhealthy, and no closets were found in the entire building. ( No one had closets in the 1790 when the White House was built.)All repairs were made.

President Van Buren had a furnace installed.

Grover Cleveland had the East Room floor propped up with stout posts as they were sagging.

Theodore Roosevelt hired the architects McKim, Mead& White. They found the Ground Floor in poor condition, the State Floor was settling dangerously, the flooring in the second floor needed replacement. Rainwater was still draining through the walls in hollowed-out logs, the sanitary system was beyond description, the wiring was obsolete, as its insulation was worn off and had charred the wooden beams and the building needed a new basement for the heating system. Everything was repaired.He nicknamed the President's House the White House in 1901 and added a tennis court in 1902.

Calvin Coolridge wanted a third floor added. In doing so it was found that some of the old wooden drainage system for rainwater caused the thick beams ends crumbled so the roof had decayed to a dangerous point. The second-floor ceilings were removed, steel girders were added and the third floor in 1927.

In World War II the building was used for the three stories of offices and the first white House bomb shelter.

In 1949, the Commission on Renovation of the Executive Mansion was established. The partitions and floors of the entire building were dismantled, steel shoring was installed and the bulldozers began digging. Concrete underpinning was added to the the old walls, a new two-story basement, new foundations, a new steel frame installed and the interior was restored.The East Wing was added 1942.

A swimming pool was installed. in 1934, to help President Roosevelt with his polio exercise

President Truman had fireproofing added and a modern fire-detection system in 1965. There was cracking plaster and sagging floors. Truman had the entire White House gutted.New subflooring in the second-story corridor, new foundation with load-bearing materials were added. He added the balcony off the second floor, which he paid for money set aside by Congress to maintain the W.H.

The Kennedy's created the modern Rose Garden in 1963.

In 1970, President Nixon converted the indoor swimming pool in to the Press Room and added a one lane bowling alley.

President Ford had a swimming pool added to the outside of the White House.

President Obama adapted the tennis court for basket ball. and Michelle planted the W.H. Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn.

Many Presidents and their wives updated the inside paint, wallpaper, and furniture.

In 2025, President Trump had a 300 million dollar ballroom. He said it would be next to the East Wing but not part of it. The East wing was demolished in a few days and the ballroom took its place.

I hope this has been informative for you. I included the major changes to the People's House. You can decide if you approve of the changes or not.