The Story of the White House
Officially renamed the nation’s most famous residence, the White House has gone by many names: the Presidential Palace, Executive Mansion, or simply 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
It’s most famous and current name is the White House.
The Story
Construction began in October 1792. Workers included European immigrants, white laborers, freed blacks, and slaves from Maryland and Virginia.
Although President Washington oversaw the project, he never lived there. Eight years later, John Adams became the first chief executive to reside in the mansion.
During the War of 1812, on August 24, 1814, the British sacked and set fire to the president’s house. James and Dolly Madison had already fled. Dolly was famous for saving George Washington’s portrait. Except for the south wall, the building did not survive. It was rebuilt.
Only a few of the numerous stolen articles taken during the sacking of the White House were saved. White House employees and slaves rescued a copy of the Lansdowne portrait. In 1939, a Canadian man returned a jewelry box to President Franklin Roosevelt. He said that his grandfather had taken it from Washington. In the same year, the descendants of a Royal Navy officer returned a medicine chest that had belonged to President Madison.
Some observers allege that most of the spoils of war taken during the sack were lost when a convoy of British ships led by HMS Fantome sank en route to Halifax during a storm on the night of November 24, 1814. The Fantome was not involved in that action.
In the fall of 1901, President William McKinley was assassinated in upstate New York. Vice President Roosevelt was sworn in immediately. His first major project was to completely renovate the executive mansion.
The White House Was Born
On October 12, T.R. unveiled his proposal along with the new name; he ordered all government documents, stationery, and letters originating from the mansion to bear the words “The White House, Washington, D.C.
Roosevelt then had a prayer from a letter John Adams sent his wife engraved on the mantel in the state dining room. The prayer says, “I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.
It is a constant challenge to actually keep the White House white. Pollution, snow, and hot summers easily stain the shiny exterior. The entire building gets a new coat of paint every four years to maintain its proper color; the job takes 600 gallons of white paint.
