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Could you live in a house where the roof leaks? Where the walls don’t have any plaster, and the “yard” is a big field of mud?
That’s what the president’s house was like in 1800, when John and Abigail Adams were the first to move in. Because there was no yard where laundry could dry, Mrs. Adams had wet sheets hung in the large drafty hall at the east end of the house.
But work on the house continued. And by the time James Madison took office in 1809, his charming wife, Dolley, could throw big parties there. She often served ice cream, which made it a popular treat in the U.S. But these parties ended in 1814. That’s when the British attacked Washington and set the mansion on fire.
When it was rebuilt, the house was painted white to cover burn marks on the stone. From then on it was unofficially known as the White House. President Theodore Roosevelt, who served from 1901 to 1909, had “The White House” printed on his stationery. That’s when the name became official.
Over the years, the White House has seen many changes. It now has 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms.
◀ Many presidents added “modern” conveniences to the White House. Andrew Jackson had running water piped in. James Polk put in gaslights, which Benjamin Harrison replaced with electricity. Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the telephone to President Rutherford B. Hayes. Thomas Edison showed Hayes a phonograph. Both inventions soon became a part of White House life. But so many structural changes over the years had made the building weak. When Harry S. Truman took office in 1945, engineers found that the White House “was standing up purely by habit.” Between 1948 and 1952 much of the building was gutted and rebuilt.
The East Room is where Abigail Adams once had laundry hung. It’s the biggest room in the White House. That’s where you’ll find the famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington. When the British attacked in 1814, Dolley Madison saved this painting. She cut it out of the frame, rolled it up, and took it out of the city. The East Room is used for official receptions, ceremonies, and press conferences. It’s also been the scene of several White House weddings. ▶
White House Kids
Many children and grandchildren of presidents have made life at the White House more fun. ▼
▲ In 1909, President William Howard Taft added the Oval Office to the West Wing. John F. Kennedy’s children liked to visit their father there.
▲ The Baby Ruth candy bar is named after one of Grover Cleveland’s daughters.
▲ Theodore Roosevelt’s children were known as the White House gang. They roller-skated and bicycled in the East Room. Some of them once snuck a pony onto a White House elevator to visit their sick brother.
▲ Thomas Lincoln, nicknamed Tad by his father, shot a toy cannon at the door during Cabinet meetings.
◀ The president’s private quarters are not just bedrooms, bathrooms, and sitting rooms. There are also a dentist’s office, a movie theater, a medical clinic, a barbershop, and more.
◀ Official rooms include the colorful Red Room, Green Room, and Blue Room. The president often receives guests in the Blue Room. The White House Christmas tree is placed there, too. In June of 1886, Grover Cleveland became the only president to get married in the White House. The wedding took place in the Blue Room.
Reminders of past presidents fill the White House. One room has Abraham Lincoln’s extra-long bed. It also has a coverlet crocheted by Mrs. Calvin Coolidge. In the State Dining Room there’s a huge mirror with figurines all around it. These can be used as candleholders or small vases. President James Monroe ordered this centerpiece from France. ▶
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