7 Fascinating Facts You Should Know About the White House
The facts about the White House are as fascinating and amazing as America itself.
The executive mansion that still stands tall today is the official workplace and home to the presidents of the United States of America since 1800. The majestic building called — The White House — is not only famous and admired in the USA but also in the whole world.
However, very few people may know the fascinating and thrilling historical facts about the White House. Much of the facts about this wonderful architecture designed under the influences of the neoclassical style of art — a beautiful blend of Greco-Roman art, are not known commonly.
Below are the six amazing facts that you should know about the White House — the executive residence of the president of America.
7. Location of the White House
The White House is located in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, United States.
President George Washington chose the place on the east bank of the Potomac River near the Capitol Building of USA and laid the cornerstone of the White House on October 13, 1792.
The construction of the beautiful building took place between 1792 and 1800. The construction formally began On October 13, 1792, when the cornerstone of the White House was put in the place by the president.
The construction of this fascinating building came to an end on November 1, 1800.
6. The first president who lived in the White House
Although President George Washington laid the foundation stone, he never lived in the White House. It was John Adams, the second president of the USA, who first came to live here even before the completion of the building.
The construction was still underway when John Adams moved to the White House on On Saturday, November 1, 1800, and become the first president in history who officially started living in executive residence.
Since then, all the presidents of America has lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. During this period, eights presidents have died in the office.
The dates are mentioned along with the name of the President:
- William Henry Harrison (Died on April 4, 1841, after one month of his Inauguration)
- Zachary Taylor (Died from acute gastroenteritis on July 9, 1850)
- Abraham Lincoln (Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on 14, 1865)
- James A. Garfield ( Shot by Charles J. Guiteau and died two months after on September 19, 1881)
- William McKinley (Assassinated by Leon Czolgosz on September 6, 1901)
- Warren G. Harding ( Died of a heart attack on August 2, 1923)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt ( Died from a cerebral haemorrhage on On April 12, 1945)
- John F. Kennedy (Assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22, 1963)
5. The Capacity of the White House
The six-floor White House covers 55,000 square feet area and has 132 rooms. There are 16 rooms for family guests along with 35 bathrooms. According to the official White House web page, there are 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, three elevators, and eight staircases.
There is a kitchen in the White House that can serve 140 guests for full dinner and hors d’oeuvres ( an appetiser or starter served before the meal) for 0ver 1000 visitors.
There are other facilities for the dwellers of the White House such as one-lane bowling alley, a tennis court, small movie theatre, jogging track, putting green, and a game room.
Franklin D. Roosevelt also installed a swimming pool which is now covered indoor while Gerald R. Ford also installed an outdoor pool.
Along with these, a new cover of paint is given to the White House after every four to six years and it takes 570 gallons of paint to fully cover the exterior of the building.
4. Its name wasn’t the White House
The executive mansion hasn’t got its name as ‘The White House’ till 1901. Although it is home to the presidents since 1800, it was called with various names such as ‘the President House’ ‘Executive mansion’ and ‘Presidental Palace etc.
It was also referred to as the White House before the war of 1812. It got that name because its exterior was whitewashed with lime-based paint to protect it from cracking due to freezing from cold and moisture.
How, since every state has executive mansions for their governers, Theodor Roosevelt wanted to distinguish it from other official buildings. so, Teddy Roosevelt officially named it as the ‘White House’ in 1901 as he believed this name will distinguish it from other state buildings and would make it special.
Since then, the White House is known for its name in the whole world.
3. The Cornerstone of the White House is missing
On 13 October 1792, a group of Freemasons gathered at Georgetown and marched to the site where the White House stands now. There they laid the cornerstone of the executive mansion and went to back to a tavern. They laid the foundational stone in a ceremony which marked the beginning of the white house.
They paraded back to the Georgetown’s Fountain Inn and made a toast to the event. They named their 11th toasts to “the fair daughters of America”. By that time they grew hazy and forgot the whereabouts of the cornerstone they had laid earlier that day.
However, five more toast followed making it 16 in numbers. The last toasts followed the wish as “May peace, liberty and order extend from pole to pole.” Then the revellers went off and had the slightest idea about the cornerstone that where they had laid it.
Thus, the beginning of the house that would stand as a symbol of powerful democracy and liberty on earth shrouded in the mysteries. The romance of the corner still lingers on and no one knows where it is.
However, according to one theory, it is implanted between two walls near the Rose Garden. During the renovation period of the White House, President Truman searched for the stone around the house but couldn’t find it.
2. There is a ghost in the White House
As the White House is a huge mansion and has 132 rooms with all other extraordinary things, there is another thing of great interest you should know.
A ghost lives in the White House. Many of the presidents, first ladies, staffers and guests have claimed that they have experienced mysterious activities in the White House.
As you have seen in the movies that great houses and mansions are often haunted. The White House is also haunted by a ghost. According to hearsay and rumours, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln haunts the house.
1. Tom Hanks gifted the tea machine to the White House
It happened that Tom Hanks (an American actor) went on his first tour to the White House in 2004 and found out that the press room was missing a coffee machine. He wanted the press room to have one and shortly after gifted it one.
After six years, when he noticed that the tea machine has worn out, so he sent them another one. He sent them the third gift in 2017. The final gift was espresso machine costing $1700. He also sent a note with the gift reading as “Keep up the good fight for truth, justice, and the American way. Especially for the truth part.”
