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Origin of the White House
A contest to find a builder produced a winning design from Irish-born architect James Hoban, who modeled his building after an Anglo-Irish villa in Dublin called the Leinster House. -
Construction
The cornerstone was laid on and over the next eight years a construction team comprised of both enslaved and freed African Americans and European immigrants built the Aquia Creek sandstone structure. -
Coating of the house
It was coated with lime-based whitewash in 1798, producing a color that gave rise to its famous nickname. -
Burnt and rebuilt
Burned to the ground by the British in August 1814, the President’s House was nearly left in its smoldering remains as lawmakers contemplated moving the capital to another city. Instead, Hoban was brought back to rebuild it nearly from scratch, in some areas incorporating the original, charred walls. Upon reassuming residency in 1817 -
Addition of executive office
William Taft hired architect Nathan Wyeth to expand the executive wing in 1909, resulting in the formation of the Oval Office as the president’s work space -
Garden
In 1913, the White House added another enduring feature with Ellen Wilson’s Rose Garden. -
Finally installation and renforcement
With structural problems mounting from the 1902 installation of floor-bearing steel beams, most of the building’s interior was stripped bare by the order of harry Truman as a new concrete foundation went in place. The Trumans helped redesign most of the state rooms and decorate the second and third floors, and the president proudly displayed the results during a televised tour of the completed house in 1952.
