When Was the White House Built?

The White House is one of the premier symbols of the United States of America, home of the President and his family. This has been the case since the first resident, President John Adams moved in. The construction of the home was approved by Congress in 1790 when George Washington was President, although Washington did not live there. President Washington selected the site for the home on the banks of the Potomac River.

After the decision was made to construct a special presidential residence, a contest was held to select the architect for the new home of Presidents. An Irishman, James Hoban, won the contest and was awarded the prize. His design, with a few modifications, was used to begin the building of the White House.

Construction began in 1792. The cornerstone was laid on October 13, 1792. During this time, much of the structure was built by slaves and other immigrants that had yet to become citizens.

Ongoing Build

The first construction as per the plans presented by Hoban was completed in 1800. When Thomas Jefferson took office and moved into the residence, he then had the residence expanded to include two colonnades to hide the stables and storage.

Like many projects, the building of the White House continued for a number of decades after the initial build. Each of the presidents made additions or modifications to the plans for the White House and with those modifications the construction carried on well into the 20th century, making it difficult to say definitively when the white house was built.

Modifications

As each president put his personal stamp on the residence, the history of the White House has been filled with modifications and additions. For example, the British Army burned part of the residence during the War of 1812. The residents of the White House at that time were President James Madison and his wife Dolly.

As the British ransacked the building, stealing anything of value, the First Lady Dolly Madison escaped with a painting of the first President, George Washington. The blaze gutted the interior of the house and charred the exterior. The structure was burned to such an extent and exposed to the elements for so long that the entire interior of the home had to be rebuilt and the exterior walls had to be removed and rebuilt to provide a stable structure.

Reconstruction began immediately. The next resident was President Monroe who moved in October 1817 while the reconstruction was still to be completed. Following reconstruction of the main residence, two other structures were added to the building. The South Portico was constructed in 1824 and the North Portico was completed by 1829.

Expansions did not occur again until President Theodore Roosevelt took office and ordered the renovations to the House that had been discussed from before the Civil War, as well as the addition of the West Wing of the White House to carry out official business. Following the initial construction of the West Wing, it was expanded and the construction of the Oval Office was undertaken by President William Taft.

The West Wing

While President Franklin Roosevelt was in office, the West Wing that had been damaged by another fire was rebuilt and the Oval Office was moved to the present location near the Rose Garden. Roosevelt also had a second floor added to the structure. The last construction project under Roosevelt was the expansion of the basement for White House staff.

More Changes

By the time the Truman administration took office, the White House was in such disrepair that both the interior and exterior had to be almost completely rennovated. The interior was gutted and rebuilt using a steel structural framework and then the original floor plan was rebuilt with relatively minor changes. Two more subbasements were also added for workrooms and offices and to provide a bomb shelter.

The last major overhaul of the White House was during the Kennedy Administration when the First Lady did a major redecoration of the entire house. The White House now holds tours daily for visitors, who can see the different facets of history preserved in the various rooms of the White House.