For nearly two hundred years, the White House has been the residence and office of the President of the United States. Standing at the edge of the Mall, due north from the Washington Monument, this grand, Neoclassical edifice was completed in 1800 by Irish immigrant James Hoban, who modeled it on the Georgian manors of Dublin. Each of its presidential occupants has made his mark: Thomas Jefferson added the first toilets, just before the British burned the place down in the War of 1812. It was quickly rebuilt and then expanded, often in such a hurry that the whole building was on the verge of collapse. Harry Truman had to move out for four years from 1948 while the structure was stabilized: all the rooms were dismantled and a modern steel frame was inserted. Truman also added the balcony to the familiar south side portico.
Though many visitors are surprised by how small and homey it is, security at the White House is every bit as tight as you'd imagine. Protesters are still allowed to set up camp opposite the main entrance, but the stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue immediately outside was closed to traffic in 1995, shortly after the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City.
White House tours consist of a lot of waiting around followed by a quick shuffle through the basement and up to the ground-floor reception rooms, then peeping in at a succession of plush, railed-off rooms filled with portraits of ex-presidents. In summer, the gardens are sometimes opened for afternoon tours, and at Christmas there are special evening tours of the festively decorated interior. US citizens may reserve tickets for a guided tour by contacting their Member of Congress - although this must be done well in advance.
If you're interested in the history of the place and its occupants, you may find the Visitor Center , a couple of blocks southeast on Pennsylvania Avenue, more rewarding than the White House itself. It's filled with photos and film footage of First Families and their distinguished guests, including a portly President Hoover playing "Hooverball" with a group of lumbering judges, and the Wright Brothers showing off their latest airplane. In one inaugural portrait after another, a drawn and exhausted president hands over power to his beaming successor.
Copyright Rough Guides Ltd as trustee for its authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved. The Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd.
Copyright © 2006 United States.biz
