82-549: The White House Correspondents' Association ( WHCA ) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States . The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor that a United States congressional committee would select which journalists could attend press conferences of President Woodrow Wilson . The WHCA operates independently of
164-473: A National Wing on the east for a historical art gallery, and a wing on the west for official functions. A plan was devised by Colonel Theodore A. Bingham that reflected the Harrison proposal. These plans were ultimately rejected. In 1902, however, Theodore Roosevelt hired McKim, Mead & White to carry out expansions and renovations in a neoclassical style suited to the building's architecture, removing
246-520: A canal and swampy lands, which provided conditions ripe for malaria and other unhealthy conditions, was questioned. Brigadier General Nathaniel Michler was tasked with proposing solutions to address these concerns. He proposed abandoning the use of the White House as a residence, and he designed a new estate for the first family at Meridian Hill in Washington, D.C. Congress, however, rejected
328-459: A comedian as the featured speaker. However, on April 5, 2019, he announced that he again would not attend, calling the dinner "so boring, and so negative," instead hosting a political rally that evening in Wisconsin. On April 22, Trump ordered a boycott of the dinner, with White House Cabinet Secretary Bill McGinley assembling the agencies' chiefs of staff to issue a directive that members of
410-539: A convoy of British ships led by HMS Fantome sank en route to Halifax off Prospect during a storm on the night of November 24, 1814, even though Fantome had no involvement in that action. After the fire, President James Madison resided in the Octagon House from 1814 to 1815, and then in the Seven Buildings from 1815 to the end of his term. Meanwhile, both Hoban and Latrobe contributed to
492-517: A copy of the Lansdowne portrait , and in 1939 a Canadian man returned a jewelry box to President Franklin Roosevelt, claiming that his grandfather had taken it from Washington; in the same year, a medicine chest that had belonged to President Madison was returned by the descendants of a Royal Navy officer. Some observers allege that most of the spoils of war taken during the sack were lost when
574-531: A ground-floor double staircase leading to an Ionic colonnaded loggia and the Truman Balcony , built in 1946. The more modern third floor is hidden by a balustraded parapet and plays no part in the composition of the façade. The building was originally variously referred to as the President's Palace , Presidential Mansion , or President's House . The earliest evidence of the public calling it
656-753: A journalist or team for distinguished Washington reporting." The award was presented from 1944 to 2003, usually at the WHCA dinner (although in the period 1951–1965 it was presented at the American Society of News Editors annual dinner). In 2004, the award passed to the Scripps Howard National Journalism Awards . Under Scripps Howard, the Washington Reporting Raymond Clapper Award was presented until 2011, at which point it
738-510: A past president of the association.... Given annually to a Washington reporter 'who personifies the journalistic excellence as well as the personal qualities exemplified by Mr. Beckman, an award-winning White House correspondent.'" Awarded for overall excellence in White House coverage. The award was established in 1970 as the Merriman Smith Memorial Award for outstanding examples of deadline reporting. (Smith died of
820-459: A reconstruction and to live across the street at Blair House from 1949 to 1951. The work, completed by the firm of Philadelphia contractor John McShain , required the complete dismantling of the interior spaces, construction of a new load-bearing internal steel frame, and the reconstruction of the original rooms within the new structure. The total cost of the renovations was about $ 5.7 million ($ 67 million in 2023). Some modifications to
902-579: A self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1970.) The award was renamed in 2022 after the WHCA determined that Smith had supported excluding Black and female journalists from membership in the National Press Club and from attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner . A $ 10,000 prize to "recognize an individual or newsgathering team for coverage of subjects and events of significant national or regional importance in line with
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#1732780357304984-491: A set of solar water heating panels that were mounted on the roof of the White House, was removed during Reagan's presidency. Redecorations were made to the private family quarters and maintenance was made to public areas during the Reagan years. The house was accredited as a museum in 1988. In the 1990s, Bill and Hillary Clinton refurbished some rooms with the assistance of Arkansas decorator Kaki Hockersmith, including
1066-808: A theme for each room: the Federal style for the Green Room , French Empire for the Blue Room , American Empire for the Red Room , Louis XVI for the Yellow Oval Room , and Victorian for the president's study, renamed the Treaty Room . Antique furniture was acquired, and decorative fabric and trim based on period documents was produced and installed. The Kennedy restoration resulted in a more authentic White House of grander stature, which recalled
1148-535: Is hidden by a balustraded parapet . The three-level southern façade combines Palladian and neoclassical architectural styles. The ground floor is rusticated in the Palladian fashion. The south portico was completed in 1824. At the center of the southern façade is a neoclassical projected bow of three bays. The bow is flanked by five bays, the windows of which, as on the north façade, have alternating segmented and pointed pediments at first-floor level. The bow has
1230-409: Is hidden by a raised carriage ramp and parapet . The central three bays are situated behind a prostyle portico that was added c. 1830 . The windows of the four bays flanking the portico, at first-floor level, have alternating pointed and segmented pediments , while the second-floor pediments are flat. A lunette fanlight and a sculpted floral festoon surmount the entrance. The roofline
1312-661: Is recorded as being brief, and he quickly selected Hoban's submission. The Neoclassical design of the White House is based primarily on architectural concepts inherited from the Roman architect Vitruvius and the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The design of the upper floors also includes elements based on Dublin's Leinster House , which later became the seat of the Irish parliament ( Oireachtas ). The upper windows with alternate triangular and segmented pediments are inspired by
1394-633: Is speculated as the source of inspiration due to its similarity with the South Portico, although this matter is one of great debate. Italian artisans, brought to Washington to help in constructing the U.S. Capitol , carved the decorative stonework on both porticos. Contrary to speculation, the North Portico was not modeled on a similar portico on another Dublin building, the Viceregal Lodge (now Áras an Uachtaráin , residence of
1476-606: Is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States . Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. , it has served as the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 when the national capital was moved from Philadelphia . The "White House" is also used as a metonym to refer to the Executive Office of the President of the United States . The residence
1558-603: Is traditionally held on the evening of the last Saturday in April at the Washington Hilton . Until 1962, the dinner was open only to men, even though WHCA's membership included women. At the urging of Helen Thomas , President John F. Kennedy refused to attend the dinner unless the ban on women was dropped. Prior to World War II , the annual dinner featured singing between courses, a homemade movie, and an hour-long, post-dinner show with big-name performers. Since 1983,
1640-538: The Charleston County Courthouse then under construction, which had been designed by Hoban. Washington is reputed to have met with Hoban during the visit. The following year, Washington summoned the architect to Philadelphia and met with him in June 1792. On July 16, 1792, the president met with the commissioners of the federal city to make his judgment in the architectural competition. His review
1722-656: The Croatian island of Brač , specifically the Pučišća quarry whose stone was used to build the ancient Diocletian's Palace in Split , was used in the building's original construction. However, researchers believe limestone from the island was used in the 1902 renovations and not the original construction. Others suggest the original sandstone simply came from Aquia Creek in Stafford County, Virginia , since importation of
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#17327803573041804-723: The Dordogne region of France. Construction on the French house was initially started before 1789, interrupted by the French Revolution for 20 years, and then finally built between 1812 and 1817 based on Salat's pre-1789 design. The conceptual link between the two houses has been criticized because Hoban did not visit France. Supporters of the connection contend that Thomas Jefferson , during his tour of Bordeaux in 1789, viewed Salat's architectural drawings, which were on file at École Spéciale d'Architecture . On his return to
1886-698: The President's Park . In 2007, it was ranked second on the American Institute of Architects list of America's Favorite Architecture . Following his April 1789 inauguration, President George Washington occupied two private houses in New York City , which served as the executive mansion. He lived at the first, the Walter Franklin House , which was owned by Treasury Commissioner Samuel Osgood , at 3 Cherry Street, through late February 1790. The executive mansion moved to
1968-606: The State Department and other departments (it now houses additional offices for the president's staff and the vice president ), and Blair House , a guest residence. The Executive Residence is made up of six stories: the Ground Floor, State Floor, Second Floor, and Third Floor, and a two-story basement . The property is a National Heritage Site owned by the National Park Service and is part of
2050-503: The War of 1812 , the mansion was set ablaze by British forces in the burning of Washington , destroying the interior and charring much of the exterior. Reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed Executive Residence in October 1817. Exterior construction continued with the addition of the semicircular South Portico in 1824 and
2132-554: The president of Ireland ), for its portico postdates the White House porticos' design. For the North Portico, a variation on the Ionic Order was devised, incorporating a swag of roses between the volutes. This was done to link the new portico with the earlier carved roses above the entrance. By the time of the American Civil War , the White House had become overcrowded. The location of the White House, just north of
2214-410: The presidential pool and spa. One hundred sixty-seven solar photovoltaic grid-tied panels were installed at the same time on the roof of the maintenance facility. The changes were not publicized as a White House spokeswoman said the changes were an internal matter, but the story was covered by industry trade journals. In 2013, President Barack Obama had a set of solar panels installed on the roof of
2296-541: The "White House" was recorded in 1811. A myth emerged that during the rebuilding of the structure after the Burning of Washington , white paint was applied to mask the burn damage it had suffered, giving the building its namesake hue. The name "Executive Mansion" was used in official contexts until President Theodore Roosevelt established "The White House" as its formal name in 1901 via Executive Order. The current letterhead wording and arrangement of "The White House" with
2378-437: The April 30, 2022, dinner, several attendees, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken tested positive for COVID-19 . However, no cases of serious illness were reported as a result of the dinner. The WHCA chose historian Ron Chernow as the featured speaker instead of a comedian after Wolf's controversial set. Established in 1981 in memory of Aldo Beckman (1934–1980), the "late Chicago Tribune Washington bureau chief,
2460-516: The French taste of Madison and Monroe. In the Diplomatic Reception Room , Mrs. Kennedy installed an antique "Vue de l'Amérique Nord" wallpaper which Zuber & Cie had designed in 1834. The wallpaper had hung previously on the walls of another mansion until 1961 when that house was demolished for a grocery store. Just before the demolition, the wallpaper was salvaged and sold to the White House. The first White House guidebook
2542-506: The Irish building. Additionally, several Georgian-era Irish country houses have been suggested as sources of inspiration for the overall floor plan, including the bow-fronted south front and the former niches in the present-day Blue Room . The first official White House guide, published in 1962, suggested a link between Hoban's design for the South Portico and Château de Rastignac , a neoclassical country house in La Bachellerie in
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2624-663: The Kennedy period were donated to the White House by wealthy philanthropists, including the Crowninshield family , Jane Engelhard , Jayne Wrightsman , and the Oppenheimer family. Stéphane Boudin of the House of Jansen , a Paris interior-design firm that had been recognized worldwide, was employed by Jacqueline Kennedy to assist with the decoration. Different periods of the early republic and world history were selected as
2706-532: The North Portico in 1829. Because of crowding within the executive mansion itself, President Theodore Roosevelt had all work offices relocated to the newly constructed West Wing in 1901. Eight years later, in 1909, President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and created the first Oval Office , which was eventually moved and expanded. In the Executive Residence, the third floor attic
2788-645: The Oval Office moved to its present location: adjacent to the Rose Garden . Decades of poor maintenance, the construction of a fourth-story attic during the Coolidge administration , and the addition of a second-floor balcony over the south portico for Harry S. Truman took a great toll on the brick and sandstone structure built around a timber frame. By 1948, the house was declared to be in imminent danger of collapse, forcing President Truman to commission
2870-705: The Oval Office, the East Room, Blue Room, State Dining Room , Lincoln Bedroom , and Lincoln Sitting Room. During the administration of George W. Bush , First Lady Laura Bush refurbished the Lincoln Bedroom in a style contemporary with the Lincoln era ; the Green Room, Cabinet Room , and theater were also refurbished. The White House became one of the first wheelchair-accessible government buildings in Washington, D.C., when modifications were made during
2952-529: The Tiffany screen and all Victorian additions. Charles McKim himself designed and managed the project, which gave more living space to the president's large family by removing a staircase in the West Hall and moving executive office staff from the second floor of the residence into the new West Wing. President William Howard Taft enlisted the help of architect Nathan C. Wyeth to add additional space to
3034-457: The Trump administration, some media companies stopped hosting parties, while other of the roughly 25 events held during the three-day period gained more prominence as signs of social status. By 2019, the dinner and associated parties had returned somewhat to their previous nature as networking and media functions, with packed houses of media industry employees and Washington political figures. After
3116-467: The U.S., Jefferson then shared the influence with Washington , Hoban, Monroe, and Benjamin Henry Latrobe . Construction of the White House began at noon on October 13, 1792, with the laying of the cornerstone. The main residence and foundations of the house were built largely by both enslaved and free African-American laborers, and employed Europeans . Much of the other work on the house
3198-494: The United States' entry into World War II; and in 1951, over what President Harry S. Truman called the "uncertainty of the world situation." In 1981, Ronald Reagan did not attend because he was recuperating after the attempted assassination the previous month, but he did phone in and told a joke about the shooting. During his presidency, Donald Trump did not attend the dinners in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Trump indicated that he might attend in 2019 since this dinner did not feature
3280-449: The Washington news media in its shows". Other criticism has focused on the amount of money actually raised for scholarships, which has decreased over the past few years. The dinners have drawn increasing public attention, and the guest list grows "more Hollywood". The attention given to the guest list and entertainers often overshadows the intended purpose of the dinner, which is to "acknowledge award-winners, present scholarships, and give
3362-502: The West Wing, which included the addition of the Oval Office . In 1925, Congress enacted legislation allowing the White House to accept gifts of furniture and art for the first time. The West Wing was damaged by fire on Christmas Eve 1929; Herbert Hoover and his aides moved back into it on April 14, 1930. In the 1930s, a second story was added, as well as a larger basement for White House staff, and President Franklin Roosevelt had
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3444-649: The White House Correspondents' Association includes: The WHCA is responsible for assigned seating in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in the White House . The WHCA's annual dinner, begun in 1921, has become a Washington, D.C. tradition, and is traditionally attended by the president and vice president. Except for Donald Trump , every president has attended at least one WHCA dinner, beginning with Calvin Coolidge in 1924. The dinner
3526-645: The White House, no substantive architectural changes have been made to the house since the Truman renovation. Since the Kennedy restoration, every presidential family has made some changes to the private quarters of the White House, but the Committee for the Preservation of the White House must approve any modifications to the State Rooms. Charged with maintaining the historical integrity of the White House,
3608-493: The White House. Among the more notable issues handled by the WHCA are the credentialing process, access to the president and physical conditions in the White House press briefing rooms. Its most high-profile activity is the annual White House Correspondents' dinner , which is traditionally attended by the president and covered by the news media. Except for Donald Trump , every president has attended at least one WHCA dinner, beginning with Calvin Coolidge in 1924. The leadership of
3690-546: The administration not attend. However, some members of the administration attended pre- and post-dinner parties. The WHCD has been increasingly criticized as an example of the coziness between the White House press corps and the administration. The dinner has typically included a skit, either live or videotaped, by the sitting U.S. president in which he mocks himself, for the amusement of the press corps. The press corps, in turn, hobnobs with administration officials, even those who are unpopular and are not regularly cooperative with
3772-525: The building and sold at a public auction . All that was saved were bust portraits of John Adams and Martin Van Buren . A proposal was made to build a new residence south of the White House, but it failed to gain support. In the fall of 1882, work was done on the main corridor, including tinting the walls pale olive and adding squares of gold leaf , and decorating the ceiling in gold and silver, with colorful traceries woven to spell "USA." The Red Room
3854-540: The building. It remained vacant until 1800 when it was sold to the University of Pennsylvania . On Saturday, November 1, 1800, Adams became the first president to occupy the White House. The President's House in Philadelphia was converted into Union Hotel and later used for stores before being demolished in 1832. The President's House was a major feature of Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's 1791 plan for
3936-429: The capital be permanently located in the new Federal District , and temporarily in Philadelphia for ten years while the permanent capital was built. Philadelphia rented the mansion of Robert Morris , a merchant, at 190 High Street, now 524–30 Market Street , as the President's House , which Washington occupied from November 1790 to March 1797. Since the house was too small to accommodate the 30 people who then made up
4018-558: The congressionally authorized committee works with each First Family — usually represented by the first lady, the White House curator , and the chief usher — to implement the family's proposals for altering the house. During the Nixon Administration (1969–1974), First Lady Pat Nixon refurbished the Green Room, Blue Room, and Red Room, working with Clement Conger , the curator appointed by President Richard Nixon . Mrs. Nixon's efforts brought more than 600 artifacts to
4100-848: The construction of both the U.S. Capitol and the White House. Hoban was born in Ireland and trained at the Dublin Society of Arts . He emigrated to the U.S. after the American Revolution , first seeking work in Philadelphia and later finding success in South Carolina , where he designed the state capitol in Columbia . President Washington visited Charleston, South Carolina , in May 1791 on his Southern Tour, and saw
4182-556: The design and oversight of the reconstruction, which lasted from 1815 until 1817. The south portico was constructed in 1824 during the James Monroe administration. The north portico was built in 1830. Though Latrobe proposed similar porticos before the fire in 1814, both porticos were built as designed by Hoban. An elliptical portico at Château de Rastignac in La Bachellerie, France, with nearly identical curved stairs,
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#17327803573044264-536: The design for the East and West Colonnades, small wings that helped conceal the domestic operations of laundry, a stable and storage. Today, Jefferson's colonnades link the residence with the East and West Wings. In 1814, during the War of 1812 , the White House was burned by British forces during the Burning of Washington , in retaliation for acts of destruction by American troops in the Canadas ; much of Washington
4346-401: The distinguished correspondent Edgar Allen Poe (1906–1998), a former WHCA president unrelated to the American fiction writer of the nearly identical name. Funded by the New Orleans Times-Picayune and Newhouse Newspapers , the award honored excellence in news coverage of subjects and events of significant national or regional importance to the American people. The Edgar A. Poe Memorial Award
4428-438: The featured speaker has usually been a comedian, with the dinner taking on the form of a comedy roast of the president and his administration. The dinner also funds scholarships for gifted students in college journalism programs. Many annual dinners have been cancelled or downsized due to deaths or political crises. The dinner was cancelled in 1930 due to the death of former president William Howard Taft ; in 1942, following
4510-442: The finished structure contained only two main floors instead of the planned three, and a less costly brick served as a lining for the stone façades. When construction was finished, the porous sandstone walls were whitewashed with a mixture of lime, rice glue, casein, and lead, giving the house its familiar color and name. The main entrance is located on the north façade under a porte cochere with Ionic columns. The ground floor
4592-421: The floor plan were made, the largest being the repositioning of the grand staircase to open into the Entrance Hall, rather than the Cross Hall. Central air conditioning was added, as well as two additional sub-basements providing space for workrooms, storage, and a bomb shelter. The Trumans moved back into the White House on March 27, 1952. While the Truman reconstruction preserved the house's structure, much of
4674-433: The house, the largest acquisition by any administration. Her husband created the modern press briefing room over Franklin Roosevelt 's old swimming pool. Nixon also added a single-lane bowling alley to the White House basement. Computers and the first laser printer were added during the Carter administration , and the use of computer technology was expanded during the Reagan administration . A Carter-era innovation,
4756-432: The human and professional qualities exemplified by the late Katharine Graham , the distinguished former publisher of The Washington Post . Debuted in 2020. $ 1,000 "award recognizes a video or photojournalist for uniquely covering the presidency from a journalistic standpoint, either at the White House or in the field. This could be breaking news, a scheduled event or feature coverage." Debuted in 2020. Named in honor of
4838-417: The interior rooms were completely dismantled and a new internal load-bearing steel frame was constructed inside the walls. On the exterior, the Truman Balcony was added. Once the structural work was completed, the interior rooms were rebuilt. The present-day White House complex includes the Executive Residence, the West Wing, the East Wing, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building , which previously served
4920-439: The larger quarters at Alexander Macomb House at 39–41 Broadway , where Washington stayed with his wife Martha and a small staff until August 1790. In May 1790, construction began on a new official residence in Manhattan called Government House . Washington never lived at Government House since the national capital was moved to Philadelphia in 1790, where it remained through 1800. The July 1790 Residence Act designated
5002-419: The main residence were paneled in wood from the timbers. Jacqueline Kennedy , wife of President John F. Kennedy (1961–63), directed a very extensive and historic redecoration of the house. She enlisted the help of Henry Francis du Pont of the Winterthur Museum to assist in collecting artifacts for the mansion, many of which had once been housed there. Other antiques, fine paintings, and improvements from
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#17327803573045084-408: The mantel in the State Dining Room. Adams lived in the house only briefly before Thomas Jefferson moved into the "pleasant country residence" in 1801. Despite his complaints that the house was too big ("big enough for two emperors, one pope, and the grand lama in the bargain"), Jefferson considered how the White House might be expanded and improved. With Benjamin Henry Latrobe , he helped lay out
5166-514: The mid-2000s onward gradually focused concern about the nature of the event. While interest in the event from entertainers, journalists, and political figures was high during the Obama administration , by the period of the Trump administration , interest gradually slowed in attending, especially after President Trump announced he would not attend, nor his staff. Business related to the weekend event slowed considerably, including at hotels, high-end restaurants, salons, caterers, and limo companies. During
5248-458: The nation's first president courted the first lady in the mid-18th century. On Saturday, November 1, 1800, John Adams became the first president to take residence in the building. The next day he wrote his wife Abigail: "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." President Franklin D. Roosevelt had Adams's blessing carved into
5330-414: The new interior finishes were generic and of little historic significance. Much of the original plasterwork, some dating back to the 1814–1816 rebuilding, was too damaged to reinstall, as was the original robust Beaux Arts paneling in the East Room. President Truman had the original timber frame sawed into paneling; the walls of the Vermeil Room , Library , China Room , and Map Room on the ground floor of
5412-461: The newly established federal city of Washington, D.C. After L'Enfant's dismissal in early 1792, Washington and his Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson , who both had personal interests in architecture, agreed that the design of the President's House and the Capitol would be chosen in a design competition . Nine proposals were submitted for the new presidential residence with the award going to Irish-American architect James Hoban . Hoban supervised
5494-496: The plan. Another option was Metropolis View, which is now the campus of The Catholic University of America . When Chester A. Arthur took office in 1881, he ordered renovations to the White House to take place as soon as the recently widowed Lucretia Garfield moved out. Arthur inspected the work almost nightly and made several suggestions. Louis Comfort Tiffany was asked to send selected designers to assist. Over twenty wagonloads of furniture and household items were removed from
5576-536: The presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt , who used a wheelchair because of his paralytic illness . In the 1990s, Hillary Clinton , at the suggestion of the Visitors Office director, approved the addition of a ramp in the East Wing corridor, affording easier wheelchair access for the public tours and special events that enter through the secure entrance building on the east side. In 2003, the Bush administration reinstalled solar thermal heaters. These units are used to heat water for landscape maintenance personnel and for
5658-402: The president. This prevented them from being sold (as many objects in the executive mansion had been in the past 150 years). When not in use or display at the White House, these items were to be turned over to the Smithsonian Institution for preservation, study, storage, or exhibition. The White House retains the right to have these items returned. Out of respect for the historic character of
5740-516: The presidential family, staff, and servants, Washington had it enlarged. President John Adams , who succeeded Washington and served as the nation's second president, occupied the High Street mansion in Philadelphia from March 1797 to May 1800. Philadelphia began construction of a much grander presidential mansion several blocks away in 1792. It was nearly completed by the time of Adams' 1797 inauguration. However, Adams chose not to occupy it, saying he did not have Congressional authorization to lease
5822-408: The press and the president an evening of friendly appreciation". This has led to an atmosphere of coming to the event only to "see and be seen". This usually takes place at pre-dinner receptions and post-dinner parties hosted by various media organizations, which are often a bigger draw and can be more exclusive than the dinners themselves. The public airings of the controversies around the dinner from
5904-474: The press. Increasing scrutiny by bloggers has contributed to added public focus on this friendliness. After the 2007 dinner, New York Times columnist Frank Rich implied that the Times would no longer participate in the dinners. Rich wrote that the dinner had become "a crystallization of the press's failures in the post- 9/11 era" because it "illustrates how easily a propaganda-driven White House can enlist
5986-442: The stone at the time would have proved too costly. The initial construction took place over a period of eight years at a reported cost of $ 232,371.83 (equivalent to $ 4,172,000 in 2023). Although not yet completed, the White House was ready for occupancy circa November 1, 1800. Pierre L'Enfant 's plan for a grand palace was five times larger than the house that was eventually built. Due in part to material and labor shortages,
6068-460: The word "Washington" centered beneath it dates to the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt . Although the structure was not completed until some years after the presidency of George Washington, there is speculation that the name of the traditional residence of the president of the United States may have been derived from Martha Washington 's home, White House Plantation , in Virginia , where
6150-460: Was affected by these fires as well. Only the exterior walls remained, and they had to be torn down and mostly reconstructed because of weakening from the fire and subsequent exposure to the elements, except for portions of the south wall. Of the numerous objects taken from the White House when it was sacked by the British, only three have been recovered. White House employees and slaves rescued
6232-433: Was converted to living quarters in 1927 by augmenting the existing hip roof with long shed dormers. A newly constructed East Wing was used as a reception area for social events; Jefferson's colonnades connected the new wings. The East Wing alterations were completed in 1946, creating additional office space. By 1948, the residence's load-bearing walls and wood beams were found to be close to failure. Under Harry S. Truman ,
6314-676: Was designed by Irish -born architect James Hoban in the Neoclassical style. Hoban modeled the building on Leinster House in Dublin , a building which today houses the Oireachtas , the Irish legislature. Constructed between 1792 and 1800, its exterior walls are Aquia Creek sandstone painted white. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he and architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe added low colonnades on each wing to conceal what then were stables and storage. In 1814, during
6396-515: Was discontinued. Notable past winners of the Raymond Clapper Award included Ernie Pyle , Nicholas Lemann , Clark R. Mollenhoff , James Reston , Joseph Albright , Morton Mintz , Adam Liptak , Helene Cooper , Jean Heller , Newbold Noyes Jr. , Thomas Lunsford Stokes , Tom Squitieri , Marcus Stern , Susan Feeney , Doris Fleeson , James Polk , James V. Risser , and William Neikirk . White House The White House
6478-437: Was done by immigrants, many of whom had not yet obtained citizenship, including the sandstone walls, which were erected by Scottish immigrants , the high-relief rose, and garland decorations above the north entrance and the fish scale pattern beneath the pediments of the window hoods. There are conflicting claims as to where the sandstone used in the construction of the White House originated. Some reports suggest sandstone from
6560-405: Was painted a dull Pomeranian red, and its ceiling was decorated with gold, silver, and copper stars and stripes of red, white, and blue. A fifty-foot jeweled Tiffany glass screen, supported by imitation marble columns, replaced the glass doors that separated the main corridor from the north vestibule. In 1891, First Lady Caroline Harrison proposed major extensions to the White House, including
6642-766: Was presented from 1990 to 2019, when it was replaced by the Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability and the Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage by Visual Journalists . Notable past winners of the award include Rochelle Sharpe , Marjie Lundstrom , Michael Tackett , Russell Carollo , Cheryl Reed , Michael Isikoff , Sam Roe , Sean Naylor , Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada , Marcus Stern , Megan Twohey , David Fahrenthold , and Norah O'Donnell . Named in honor of Raymond Clapper (1892-1944) and given "to
6724-548: Was produced under the direction of curator Lorraine Waxman Pearce with direct supervision from Mrs. Kennedy. Sales of the guidebook helped finance the restoration. In a televised tour of the house on Valentine's Day in 1962, Kennedy showed her restoration of the White House to the public. Congress enacted legislation in September 1961 declaring the White House a museum. Furniture, fixtures , and decorative arts could now be declared either historic or of artistic interest by
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