THE WHITE HOUSE
The White House is the official residence of the President of the United States of America, and has been for over 200 years. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC, the capital city of the USA.
The
White House was designed by the Irish-American architect James
Hoban, who had won a architectural design competition in 1792. Hoban's
design is said to have been very similar to a plan from James Gibbs'
"Book of Architecture" (published in 1728). Extra pavillions
and porticos (ornamental, deck-like structures with columns supporting
a roof) were added to the White House later; they were designed by the
architect Benjamin Latrobe (who also designed the United States Capitol).
The White House was originally built from 1792 to 1800. It was burned
down by British soldiers during the War of 1812, but was rebuilt from
1815 to 1817.
The first US President to live in the White House was John Adams ( the second President of the USA). Adams and his family moved to the White House in 1800. They had previously lived in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania (which had been the temporary capital of the USA while Washington, D.C., was being built). When the Adams family moved into the White House, the interior of the building was not quite finished. Construction was completed during Thomas Jefferson's term (1801-1809).
In
the 1850's, a stove was added to the White House; previously, food had
been cooked in fireplaces. The first telephone was wired into the White
House during the term of Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881). Electricity
was added to the White House during the Benjamin Harrison administration
(1889-1893).
The one-story West Wing offices were built during the term of Theodore
"Teddy" Roosevelt, in 1901-1902 (they were added because his
large family had taken over the second floor offices for family space,
so more temporary office space was needed).
President William Howard Taft remodeled the President's office in 1909,
changing it into an oval-shaped room, creating the Oval Office in the
center of the West Wing.
Between 1948 and 1952, during the Harry Truman administration, the White
House was completely remodeled after it was found to be structurally
unsound. Steel framing was added to strengthen the walls, but the original
rooms were reconstructed.
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ACTIVITIES
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