White House USA Washington
White House - official name of the
executive mansion of the President of the
The building, constructed of
Virginia freestone, is of simple and stately design. The porte-cochere on the
north front, which forms the main entrance, is a portico of high Ionic columns
reaching from the ground to the roof pediment; it is balanced by a semicircular
colonnaded balcony on the south with a second-floor porch, completed in 1948.
The main building (four stories high) is about
The executive office is approached
by an esplanade. Large receptions are usually held in the East Room, which is
The White House, designated "the Palace" in the original plans, was designed by James Hoban on a site chosen by George Washington. It is the oldest public building in Washington, its cornerstone having been laid in 1792. John Adams was the first President to live there (1800). The building was restored after being burned (1814) by British troops, and the smoke-stained gray stone walls were painted white.
Despite
popular myth the cognomen "White House" was applied to the building
some time before it was painted. The name became official when President
Theodore Roosevelt had it engraved upon his stationery. Part of the house was
rebuilt (1949-52) on a steel-supporting frame. The grounds, which cover about
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