In August of 1814, the White House had to be rebuilt after its destruction during the War of 1812 and its rebuilding was completed in 1817.
The building remained as is until 1814, when it was burned during the War of 1812. After the fire, James Hoban, the original architect, was commissioned to lead the rebuilding of the White House.
Empowered by the Residence Act of 1790, President George Washington chose the exact spot for the 10-square-mile capital, on the Potomac River’s east bank and near the Capitol building. Builders laid the White House cornerstone on October 13, 1792, with the Capitol cornerstone following soon after on August 18, 1793.
Truman, the White House underwent a renovation and expansion so extensive, it changed the Executive Mansion more than the fire of 1814. The White House we know today is largely due to the renovation led by Truman. The construction took place between 1948 and 1952 and was a remarkable feat of engineering.
There is very little of the original White House left. Built in 1792, it has suffered 3 disasters over the past 200 years.
The swimming pool at the White House, the official residence of the President of the United States, is located on the South Lawn near the West Wing.
The White House to Treasury Building tunnel is a 761-foot (232 m) subterranean structure in Washington, D.C. that connects a sub-basement of the East Wing of the White House to the areaway which surrounds the United States Treasury Building.
The total cost of the renovations was about $5.7 million ($56 million in 2019).
The total cost was $232,372.
Former presidents receive a pension equal to the pay that the head of an executive department (Executive Level I) would be paid; as of 2020, it is $219,200 per year. A former president’s spouse may also be paid a lifetime annual pension of $20,000 if they relinquish any other statutory pension.
The President’s Bedroom is a second floor bedroom in the White House. The bedroom makes up the White House master suite along with the adjacent sitting room and the smaller dressing room, all located in the southwest corner.
Letitia Christian Tyler, first wife of President John Tyler, served as First Lady of the United States from 1841 until her death at 51. She was the youngest First Lady to pass away and one of only three to have passed away in the White House.
In addition to adding a “temporary” West Wing and upgrading interior finishes, the work included adding bathrooms, removing the west stair, expanding the second floor West Sitting Hall, and expanding the State Dining Room.
A committee picked a simple but elegant design by James Hoban, a young Irish American architect. The first stone was laid on October 13, 1792. It took eight years to finish enough of the house to make it livable. The Capitol Building wasn’t completed yet, and congressmen lived in boardinghouses surrounded by farmland.
In 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt officially named the Executive Mansion the “White House”. Before that, the White House had been called several names, including the “ President’s House ”, and the “ Executive Mansion ”.