The White House is one of the most well known buildings in the history of America. It’s main purpose and what it’s most well known for is the house of who ever is the current president of the United States. The White House is located in Washington D.C., at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, very close to many of the monuments in the D.C. area. The designer for the White House was chosen based on a design competition, and was won by James Hoban, and Irish-American. Just less than twenty years later, the famous architect who is responsible for the building of the Capitol, Benjamin Latrobe, decided to improve the President’s home. These changes included pavilions on either end, changes to the interior design, and a portico on the front and back of the building. During the War of 1812, the British invasion caused many problems concerning the D.C. buildings. In 1814, the White House was burnt down, but was soon rebuild when the British left. James Hoban then took the job of rebuilding his design. Instead of simply rebuilding it the exact way that it had been before, Hoban added and finished many of Latrobe’s ideas and projects for the White House, such as the south and north portico. For a long while, the White House remained fairly untouched until 1902. During that time, the firm of McKim, Mead, and White remodeled the house and added the East Gallery as well as the Executive Office Wing. About 50 years later, near 1950, the interior structure was torn down and replaced with a steel frame, as many deemed it unstable and thus not safe. The White House has changed quite a lot from its beginning, and is still changing. As long as the White House stands, this symbol of America will constantly go through small and large changes.
Sources:
http://sc94.ameslab.gov/tour/whitehouse.html
