White House History

Following a competition for the design of the President’s House in the spring of 1792, Irish born and trained architect James Hoban was commissioned to build a home and office for the President of the United States. With guidance from President George Washington, Hoban employed craftsmen brought from as far away as Scotland and oversaw a free and slave labor force that constructed what is considered today America’s finest 18th-century stone building.

The cornerstone for the residence was laid on October 13, 1792. Labor and material shortages forced revisions in the original plan earlier developed by French engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant for a "pallace" that was five times larger than the house that was eventually built. Most significantly, there would only be two main floors not three, and a less expensive brick made at the site was employed as a lining for the stone facades.

The name "White House" probably came into colloquial use soon after the stonemasons whitewashed the house in 1798 to protect the walls. The white finish brought out the fine exterior ornamentation. On November 1, 1800, President John Adams became the first occupant of the house. He and his family would shiver within the house’s unfinished walls for four months.

Hell itself couldn't warm that corner - President Andrew Jackson, 1829-1837

Thomas Jefferson was the next president to reside in the house. Before moving in, he fit fireplaces with coal-burning fixtures and installed two water closets. With architect Benjamin Latrobe’s assistance, Jefferson also built long, columnar terraces extending on the east and west.

In 1810, Latrobe installed a "Pettibone" furnace for James and Dolley Madison. It used a series of kettles and clay pipes to force hot air up from the basement. When British troops set fire to the house on August 25, 1814, the system was destroyed and never replaced.

Burned to a charred ruin during the War of 1812, the President's House became an object of shame and wonder. Talk spread of moving the capital inland with a suggestion to go as far as Cincinnati, Ohio. But Andrew Jackson’s victory over the British at the Battle of New Orleans restored national pride and the idea of rebuilding in the nation’s capital became symbolic of triumph.

It is what the mansion of the head of this Republic should be… and should be finished and maintained in a style to gratify every wish for convenience and pleasure - The People's Magazine, 1831

James Hoban was hired to rebuild the executive mansion in 1815. Two years later, President James Monroe took residence and purchased furnishings for the still unfinished interiors. During Monroe’s administration in 1824, Hoban completed the south portico. Double stairs curved up to a much-needed porch, and columns lent a vertical sweep to the architecture of the house.

In 1829, Hoban started construction of the north portico and finished it a year later during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. The fine carved stone north door surround and garland of roses and acorns over the north portal were overshadowed by the mass of the portico. With the finishing of the porticoes the image of the White House as we know it today was complete.

Running water was introduced to the Jackson White House in 1833. An ingenious system was devised to pump water to an east terrace bathing room. In 1840, Martin Van Buren hired a live-in fireman to manage the boilers of a monstrous new furnace. In 1848, James Polk directed that gaslights replace candles in the chandeliers and wall fixtures. It was an era of great innovations.

I would not wish to exchange this house for any other…I think it beautiful…. I love this house for the associations that no other could have - First Lady Lucy Webb Hayes, 1877-1881

In the years prior to the Civil War, the cumbersome furnace was converted to an efficient hot water system. Franklin Pierce installed a private bath in 1853. James Buchanan added a wooden greenhouse on the roof of the west terrace in 1857, adjacent to the State Dining Room. This simple structure burned in 1867 and was replaced by an iron and wood greenhouse twice as large as the earlier one. In the 1870s and 1880s, additional conservatories were added to the White House, including rose houses, a camellia house, orchid houses and a house for bedding plants. All were removed to construct the Executive Office Building (the West Wing) in 1902.

From the 1830s until 1902, changes to the main block of the White House occurred principally to its interiors. Andrew Jackson furnished the East Room

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