The White House

The White House has been the official residence and workplace of the President of the United States since 1800, making it one of the most recognizable symbols of the American presidency and of the nation itself. Every president except George Washington has lived there.

More than a home, it is the setting for the daily work of the executive branch, from the Oval Office in the West Wing to state dinners in the residence. Its neoclassical form, designed by James Hoban, has endured through fire, reconstruction, and more than two centuries of history.

After the new federal city of Washington was laid out, a design competition for the President's House was won by the Irish-born architect James Hoban. Construction of the neoclassical sandstone building began with a cornerstone in 1792, and John Adams became the first president to move in, in 1800, while the house was still unfinished.

During the War of 1812, British troops set fire to the White House in 1814, gutting the interior. It was rebuilt under Hoban's direction, and James Monroe reoccupied it in 1817. Over the following century the mansion was expanded and modernized — Theodore Roosevelt made “White House” the official name in 1901 and added the West Wing.

By the mid-20th century the aging structure had become dangerously unsound, prompting a complete gut renovation during Harry Truman's presidency (1948–1952), in which the interior was dismantled and rebuilt on a new steel frame behind the original stone walls. Today the White House has 132 rooms and is administered as part of the National Park Service's President's Park.