The White House

Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted

Official residence and workplace of the president of the United States, and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800

General Information

Hours:
The White House Visitor Center is open Tuesday-Saturday from 8am to 3pm. The visitor center is closed on Thanksgiving, December 25, January 1, and Inauguration Day
To request a White House tour, contact your Member of Congress. Requests can be submitted up to three months in advance and no less than 21 days prior to the desired tour date
Fees:
No entrance fees
Pet Policy:
Pets are allowed in President's Park but are not allowed inside of the White House Visitor Center
Seasons:
All year
Address:
100 Hersheypark Dr, Hershey, PA 17033
Website:
hersheypark.com/
Rating:
5.0

Head southeast on Scott Cir NW toward Rhode Island Ave NW. Exit the traffic circle onto 16th St NW. Turn right onto M St NW. Turn left onto Connecticut Ave NW. Continue onto 17th. Turn left onto H St NW.

The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800.

The residence was designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban in the neoclassical style. Hoban modelled the building on Leinster House in Dublin, a building which today houses the Oireachtas, the Irish legislature. 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 as the section was expanded. In the main mansion, the third-floor attic 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. East Wing alterations were completed in 1946, creating additional office space. By 1948, the residence's load-bearing exterior walls and internal wood beams were found to be close to failure. Under Harry S. Truman, the interior rooms were completely dismantled and a new internal load-bearing steel frame constructed inside the walls. Once this work was completed, the interior rooms were rebuilt.

The White House Field
Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted

The modern-day White House complex includes the Executive Residence, West Wing, East Wing, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (the former State Department, which now houses 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, as well as a two-story basement. The property is a National Heritage Site owned by the National Park Service and is part of the President's Park. In 2007, it was ranked second on the American Institute of Architects list of "America's Favorite Architecture".

The West Wing houses the president's office (the Oval Office) and offices of his senior staff, with room for about 50 employees. It also includes the Cabinet Room, where the president conducts business meetings and where the Cabinet meets, as well as the White House Situation Room, James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, and Roosevelt Room. In 2007, work was completed on renovations of the press briefing room, adding fiber optic cables and LCD screens for the display of charts and graphs.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "White House" which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0

The White House Pics

The White House Center
Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
The White House National Tree
Series: Reagan White House Photographs, 1/20/1981 - 1/20/1989Collection: White House Photographic Collection, 1/20/1981 - 1/20/1989, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
The White House Statue
The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
The White House Center
The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
The White House National Tree
Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
The White House Statue
White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
The White House Center
The White House National Tree
The White House Statue
The White House Center
Don-vip, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
The White House National Tree
National Christmas Tree
I, Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted