The north front is the principal façade of the White House and consists of three floors and eleven bays. The ground floor is hidden by a raised carriage ramp and parapet, thus the façade appears to be on two floors. The central three bays are behind a prostyle portico (this was a later addition to the house, built circa 1830), serving, thanks to the carriage ramp, as a porte cochere. The windows of the four bays flanking the portico, at first-floor level, have alternating pointed and segmented pediments, while at second-floor level, the pediments are flat. The principal entrance at the center of the portico is surmounted by a lunette fanlight. Above the entrance is a sculpted floral festoon. The roofline is hidden by a balustraded parapet. The mansion's southern façade is a combination of the Palladian and neoclassical styles of architecture. It consists of three floors, all visible. The ground floor is rusticated in the Palladian fashion. At the center of the façade is a neoclassical projected bow of three bays. The bow is flanked by five bays, the windows of which, as on the north façade, have alternating segmented and pointed pediments at first-floor level. The bow has a ground-floor double staircase leading to an Ionic colonnaded loggia (with the Truman Balcony at second-floor level), known as the south portico. The more modern third floor is hidden by a balustraded parapet and plays no part in the composition of the façade.

The British forces burned the White House during the War of 1812, leaving only weakened exterior walls, most of which had to be rebuilt. A few items taken during the sack were later returned, while others were believed lost in a shipwreck. President James Madison lived in temporary residences until reconstruction, overseen by Hoban and Latrobe, was completed in 1817. During the War of 1812 British attack on Washington, D.C., Dolley Madison famously saved a full-length portrait of George Washington from the White House. She ordered her servant to save or, if needed, destroy the painting to keep it from enemy hands. The portrait remains part of the White House collection today.

The South Portico was designed by Hoban, with decorative stonework carved by Italian artisans brought to Washington.&nbsp;

The North Portico was designed by Hoban. The North Portico’s Ionic variation included carved rose swags to harmonize with earlier designs. During John Quincy Adams’ presidency (1825-1829), an iron garden pump with “nine spout holes” was attached to a well at the nearby Treasury Building and provided water to the White House Grounds.&nbsp;

Running water iron pipes in the Ground Floor Corridor for drinking and fire protection under Andrew Jackson, as well as a "bathing room" (early bathroom) was added in the East Wing. &nbsp;There was no indoor plumbing before this. Servants carried water from an off-site well.&nbsp;

The first flushing toilet was installed under Millard Fillmore. Later Franklin Pierce added a more modern bathroom, including a bathtub. Records indicate that the Second Floor of the White House had central plumbing, including hot and cold water taps.&nbsp;

President James Buchanan, encouraged by his niece and hostess Harriet Lane, added a wooden greenhouse to the White House’s West Terrace, designed by Edward Clark. Intended mainly for enjoyment rather than utility, it offered fresh flowers and a serene retreat for presidents and their families. Harriet Lane, Mary Todd Lincoln, and Julia Grant—who kept orchids—were among its admirers. Rutherford and Lucy Hayes, avoiding alcohol, often ended dinners with guest strolls through the greenery. The conservatory also housed historic plants, including a sago palm once owned by George Washington. The conservatory burned down in 1867. It took four fire companies several hours to contain the blaze and ensure that it did not spread to the rest of the mansion. Over time, the White House conservatory was rebuilt and expanded into a complex of greenhouses on the west side.

By the Civil War, the White House was overcrowded and its location—near a canal and swamp—raised health concerns. Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Michler proposed relocating the president’s residence to Meridian Hill or Metropolis View, but Congress rejected both plans.By 1876, a 2,000-gallon tank was installed in the attic to supply water throughout the White House.When Chester A. Arthur became president in 1881, he ordered extensive renovations, bringing in Louis Comfort Tiffany’s designers. Over twenty wagonloads of furnishings were auctioned, saving only busts of John Adams and Martin Van Buren. In 1882, decorative updates included gold and silver accents in the main corridor, a new red-and-gold design for the Red Room, and a 50-foot jeweled Tiffany glass screen separating the corridor from the north vestibule.

President Benjamin Harrison and First Lady Caroline proposed major White House extensions—a National Wing on the east for a historical art gallery and a west wing for official functions—but the plan, developed by Col. Theodore A. Bingham, was not adopted. The Harrisons also began the tradition of the White House Christmas tree.

Theodore Roosevelt hired McKim, Mead &amp; White to renovate the building in a neoclassical style, removing Victorian additions and creating the West Wing to house executive offices. William Howard Taft later expanded the West Wing, adding the Oval Office. &nbsp;The conservatory/Green house were all demolished to make way for the West Wing, as moving or recreating them was too costly, and architect Charles McKim believed they clashed with the White House’s neoclassical style.

In 1925, Congress allowed the White House to accept donated furniture and art. After a 1929 fire damaged the West Wing, Herbert Hoover oversaw its repair. In the 1930s, a second story and larger basement were added, and Franklin Roosevelt moved the Oval Office to its current location by the Rose Garden.

During Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency, the White House was among the first government buildings in Washington, D.C. to become wheelchair accessible, accommodating his use of a wheelchair due to paralysis. In the 1990s, Hillary Clinton approved adding a ramp in the East Wing corridor to improve wheelchair access for public tours and events entering through the secure east entrance.

By 1948, decades of neglect, structural changes, and added features had left the White House near collapse. President Truman ordered a full reconstruction, relocating to Blair House from 1949–1951 including extensive plumbing renovations. Contractor John McShain’s team dismantled the interior, installed a steel frame, and rebuilt the rooms, adding central air, two sub-basements, and repositioning the grand staircase. The $5.7 million project (about $69 million in 2024) preserved the structure but replaced many historic finishes with generic ones. Damaged original plasterwork and Beaux Arts paneling were lost, though Truman repurposed timber from the old frame to panel several rooms.

Congress declared the White House a museum, allowing the president to designate its furniture, fixtures, and decorative arts as historic or artistically significant, protecting them from being sold. The house was accredited as a museum in 1988

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy led a major White House restoration (1961–63), working with Henry Francis du Pont to acquire historic furnishings and artifacts, many once in the house, and with Paris designer Stéphane Boudin to style rooms in historically inspired themes: Federal (Green Room), French Empire (Blue Room), American Empire (Red Room), Louis XVI (Yellow Oval Room), and Victorian (Treaty Room). Antique furniture, period-accurate fabrics, and notable artworks were added, creating a more authentic, elegant interior. Mrs. Kennedy also installed the 1834 Vue de l'Amérique Nord wallpaper in the Diplomatic Reception Room, salvaged from a demolished mansion. She oversaw the first White House guidebook, with sales funding the project, and presented the restored home to the public in a televised 1962 tour.

During the Nixon administration (1969–74), First Lady Pat Nixon refurbished the Green, Blue, and Red Rooms with curator Clement Conger, adding over 600 artifacts—the largest acquisition by any administration. President Nixon converted FDR’s old swimming pool into the modern press briefing room and added a single-lane bowling alley in the White House basement.

The official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Designed in the neoclassical style using Aquia Creek sandstone painted white. Hoban modelled the building on Leinster House in Dublin, a building which today houses the Oireachtas, the Irish legislature.It has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. The term "White House" is often used as a metonym for the president and their advisers.

Tom, Peter, Ben, Harry and Daniel. Tom, Peter, Ben, and Harry were owned by White House architect James Hoban. Daniel was owned by Hoban’s assistant, Pierce Purcell. In many payrolls related to federal construction projects, the enslaved person is listed either listed only by their first name, with their owner’s last name, or with a mark like “N” to indicate their enslaved status. Their owner typically signed for their wages on the opposite side of the payroll, allowing researchers and historians to learn about their enslavement. White wage laborers usually signed for themselves.

working at the President's House; Simon, Jerry, Jef, Charles, Len, Dick, Bill, and Jim. Enslaved workers were typically noted in the payrolls with an "N" or "Negro" to indicate their status.

A 1793 elevation by James Hoban. His 3-story, 9-bay original submission was altered into this 2-story, 11-bay design.

[London]- Published by G. Thompson No. 43 Long Lane

This painting by Tom Freeman for the White House Historical Association shows the burning north and west facades of the White House when it was set aflame by the British soldiers on August 24, 1814 during the War of 1812. British soldiers can be seen in the foreground. It was commissioned during George W. Bush's presidency, but depicts events that occurred during James Madison's.

This artist’s rendering acknowledges the roles of many participants in the portrait rescue. Jean Sioussat packs Cabinet papers, Paul Jennings holds a ladder, Thomas Magraw and Jacob Barker pass by the Washington portrait, Dolley Madison gives directions, Robert De Peyster collects baggage, and enslaved maid Sukey prepares to leave.&nbsp;

This 1962 color photograph was taken by National Geographic Society staff for inclusion in the first edition of "The White House, An Historic Guide." A circa 1817 Deniére et Matelin gilded bronze mantel clock sits above the fireplace. Above the mantel is David Martin's 1767 portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Hanging on the wall to the left are two portraits by Paul Cézanne, "House on the Marne" (above) and "The Forest" (below).

This black and white photograph of the Red Room from the Detroit Publishing Co. was taken around 1904 during the Theodore Roosevelt administration. The Red Room is one of three state parlors on the State Floor of the Executive Mansion named after a color, with the designated red dating as far back as 1845 and the James K. Polk administration. In1902, President Roosevelt oversaw the first major renovation of the White House under the direction of renowned architect Charles Follen McKim of the New York firm McKim, Mead and White.

This circa 1889 black and white photograph by Frances Benjamin Johnston depicts the Entrance Hall of the White House, including the Tiffany Screen. In 1882, Louis Comfort Tiffany created this glass screen to separate the Entrance Hall from the Cross Hall. The glass screen featured topaz, ruby, and amethyst jewels set into the glass alongside four eagles and a shield with the initials "US." The glass screen was removed during the Roosevelt renovation, and portions of it were auctioned off in 1903. No known surviving example of the glass exists today. The surviving glass was destroyed in a fire in 1923.

This is a photograph taken ca. 1903 of guests waiting in line to be received by President Theodore Roosevelt during the New Year's Day reception. This annual tradition started in 1801 during the Adams administration and ended in 1932 during the Hoover administration.

This black and white photograph of the Red Room was taken around 1884-1885, during the Chester A. Arthur or Grover Cleveland administration. In 1882, President Arthur commissioned designer Louis Comfort Tiffany to redecorate a number of the rooms on the State Floor, including the Red Room. Comfort's redesign of the Red Room was decorated inline with the Aesthetic movement of the 19th century.

This photograph is a portrait of the entire Roosevelt family: President Theodore Roosevelt, First Lady Edith Roosevelt, and their six children. Left to right: Quentin, President Roosevelt, Theodore III (Ted), Archibald (Archie), Alice, Kermit, First Lady Edith Roosevelt, Ethel.

This black and white photograph depicts the Grand Staircase of the White House as it appeared between the Roosevelt renovation (1902) to the Truman Renovation (1948-1952). Note the heavy iron gates at the bottom of the stairway.

A detail from a watercolor of the White House grounds about 1826 entitled "President's House, Washington." Shown with the White House are Jefferson’s stone wall; the orchard and vegetable garden, fenced in rails; and several workmen’s shanties left over from the reconstruction.

This lithograph published in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper in 1858 depicts the newly added White House Conservatory. In the print, presumably, is Harriet Lane, President James Buchanan's niece who served as White House hostess during his administration, standing in the Conservatory. The Conservatory was built during Buchanan's administration and stood on the grounds of what is today the West Colonnade and West Wing. The Conservatory had a small, 12 foot passage between the glass room and the Executive Mansion and served as a private space for first families of the era. P. Hall Baglie is credited with the tinting of this lithograph.

This hand-colored wood engraving of the State Dining Room by an unknown artist was made during the Ulysses S. Grant administration. The wood engraving captures a State Dinner held for the Joint High Commissioners on March 9, 1871. The Commission was made up of delegates from the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States and eventually led to the signing of the Treaty of Washington in 1871, which settled disputes between the three nations.Harriet Lane’s successors followed her lead and expanded the use of flowers in the White House. President Ulysses S. Grant and First Lady Julia Dent Grant entertained lavishly, employing impressive floral displays to awe their guests.

On the evening of March 27, 1952, in a small ceremony at the entrance door, President Truman received a gold key to the newly renovated White House. After spending more than three years living in the smaller quarters of the Blair House across the street, the first family returned to the mansion for their first night back in residence. It was both the same house they had left three years earlier and a new and larger home as well. Its original 48 rooms had expanded to 54, not including two entirely new sub-basement levels containing service areas and other support facilities.In a live television special, the president proudly toured the renovated house, telling of events in its history. President Truman's renovation was the most radical in the history of the White House. His goal was to rebuild the house for all time. It remains today, redecorated, but essentially as he left it.

The White House

Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s 1791 plan for Washington, D.C., included the President’s House. After his dismissal in 1792, President Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson held a design competition, awarding the project to Irish-American architect James Hoban. Trained in Dublin, Hoban emigrated to the U.S., working in Philadelphia and South Carolina, where his Charleston County Courthouse impressed Washington during a 1791 visit. Summoned to Philadelphia in 1792, Hoban met with Washington, who swiftly chose his design on July 16, 1792.

including elevation, as part of the White House drawing competition. The sketch comprises a single sheet of creme paper with pricked guide points, pen and iron gall ink, scored guide lines and black ink washes. The page was signed "A. Z." in the upper left corner, and was later inscribed "Abraham Faws" on the right upper edge (almost totally removed by restoration).

A proposed plan for the first floor of the White House, the home of the President of the United States. This plan was an anonymous submission to a design competition held in 1792 to determine the architect of the White House, and was one of nine entries. Although it was submitted anonymously, it is attributed to former president Thomas Jefferson. The work is signed "Faws." at the center of the lower edge, and "Abram Faws." at the upper edge. The plan was created on a single sheet of creme paper and has pricked guide points along with pen and iron gall ink and black ink washes.

Floor plan for the second floor of the proposed President's House made for the U.S. White House and Capitol Drawing Competition held by the federal government in 1792. The drawing features a square building with rooms surrounding a central rotunda.

Architectural drawing of a floor plan for the third floor of the proposed President's House. Plan features three rectangular rooms on either side of a large central rotunda. Building has a rectangular footprint. Made for the White House and Capitol Drawing Competition held by the United States government in 1792.

An architectural elevation of the back and floor plan of the lower floor of the proposed United State Capitol Building. Made for the Capitol and White House Drawing Competition held by the United States Government in 1792. Elevation features a three-story building with a central pediment supported by six Corinthian columns. Floor plan includes a large central rectangular room flanked by two wings, each including three smaller rooms. Steps are seen marking the entrances and exits at each of the four sides of the building.

Architectural elevation of the façade of the proposed Capitol Building. The building is three stories with both flat and arched windows. The roof is supported by four large columns. Inscriptions and signature appear at bottom right and. Made for the Capitol and White House Drawing Competition held by the United States government in 1792.

Architectural elevation of one end of the proposed Capitol Building. The building is three stories tall and has a central portico surrounding the entrance in the center of the ground floor with steps leading up to it. A floor plan for the portico is seen at the bottom. Made for the Capitol and White House Drawing Competition held by the United States government in 1792.

Perspective View of a proposed Federal House. View shows a U-shaped building with the central entrance in the background and two wings protruding towards the picture plane. The central wing is topped by a steeple and the two-story building has a high hipped roof with eight chimneys. Made for the Capitol Drawing Competition held by the United States government in 1792.

An elevation of a proposed design for a Capitol building made for the U.S. Capitol Drawing Competition held by the government in 1792. The drawing features a two story building with a central rotunda topped by the form of a large bird with outstretched wings. The building has a mansard roof surrounded by a balustrade with two chimneys at either end. The title of the drawing is inscribed along the bottom of the paper.

Architectural drawing featuring two stories of a floor plan for the proposed Capitol Building. Made for the Capitol Design Competition held by the federal government in 1792. The floor plan features a rectangular building with many rooms and a central courtyard. A portico stands at the entrance to the building in the bottom drawing, while both stories feature an octagonal room at the back of the building. An inscription describing the drawing is seen at the bottom of the paper.

The White House Design Competition

Proposed by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton

The First Bank of the United States was created to strengthen the young nation’s finances, establish public credit, manage government funds, and support economic growth. The bank quickly became the center of a heated debate over federal power and the Constitution, with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison arguing that Congress lacked the authority to establish it. Despite the controversy, President George Washington approved Hamilton’s proposal, and the bank operated under a twenty-year charter until 1811.

The First Bank of the United States building introduced a level of architectural grandeur that signaled the authority and permanence of the new federal government. Its most striking feature is the marble Corinthian portico, a hexastyle (six‑column) arrangement spanning nearly 48 feet across the façade. The front is clad in Pennsylvania blue‑gray marble, while the rest of the structure is brick, an intentional choice that concentrated visual power on the public‑facing elevation. The façade’s sculptural program includes a carved eagle, Mercury’s head, a cornucopia, and other allegories of commerce and national prosperity, executed by Clodius LeGrand, whose pediment eagle is the earliest surviving architectural use of the U.S. national emblem.The building’s composition draws heavily on European precedents, especially the Royal Exchange in Dublin, but adapts them to the emerging American Federal style. Its seven‑bay façade, hipped copper roof (with portions still original), and balanced classical proportions made it one of the most admired buildings of its time. Contemporary critics noted both its ambition and its imperfections: Benjamin Henry Latrobe praised the marble’s beauty while criticizing the uneven stonework, a reminder of the young nation’s still‑developing craftsmanship. Inside, the original barrel‑vaulted banking hall was replaced in 1901 by architect James H. Windrim, who inserted a dramatic glass‑domed skylight supported by steel beams—an early 20th‑century modernization that remains part of the building today.Architecturally, the First Bank stands at the crossroads of politics, symbolism, and style. Its classical vocabulary asserted federal authority at a moment when the Constitution’s meaning was still being contested, and its monumental presence helped establish Philadelphia as the nation’s financial capital in the 1790s. Today, it remains one of the most significant surviving examples of early American neoclassicism and underwent restoration to reopen as a museum interpreting the origins of the U.S. financial system.

After the charter for the First Bank of the United States expired on March 4, 1811, Stephen Girard purchased most of its stock as well as the building and its furnishings on South Third Street in Philadelphia and opened his own bank, later known as Girard Bank. It opened for business on May 18, 1812. Girard was the sole proprietor of his bank, and thus avoided the Pennsylvania state law which prohibited an unincorporated association of persons from establishing a bank, and which required a charter from the legislature for a banking corporation.After Hamilton left office in 1795, Treasury Secretary Oliver Wolcott Jr. proposed selling the government’s shares in the bank to raise funds. Congress approved the sale despite Hamilton’s opposition. The First Bank’s charter expired in 1811, and it was succeeded by the Second Bank of the United States in 1816.

Following a massive $43 million restoration, the historic building is reopening to the public as a museum.

A national bank, chartered for a term of twenty years by the United States Congress.

Built 1795-97, Samuel Blodgett, designer and Joseph P. Le Grand, marble mason. It served as the Bank of the U.S. from 1797-1812 and as the Bank of Stephen Girard's, 1812-1864. Later occupied by the Girard National Bank, 1864-1926. The interior was drastically altered in 1901, James Windrim, architect. It was purchased for the Independence National Historical Park Project in 1954.

The 1797 First Bank of the United States, commissioned by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton when the nation adopted a single currency.

First Bank of the United States, Independence National Historical Park

The 1st Bank of the United States

Irish artist Ron Mercer created a portrait of James Hoban for a postage stamp, while American designer Walter D. Richards, known for the American Architecture Series, illustrated the White House. On September 29, First Lady Nancy Reagan, Postmaster General William F. Bolger, and Irish ambassador Sean Donlon attended a ceremony announcing the stamp. Ireland issued its Hoban stamp that day, but the United States waited until October 13 to mark the 1792 laying of the White House cornerstone. During production, the U.S. Postal Service raised first-class postage from 18¢ to 20¢, effective November 1. To avoid releasing a short-lived 18¢ stamp, the agency unusually issued both denominations with the same design.

Depicted Hoban indicating progress on the President's House to President Washington during an early summer day

In his boyhood, he learned the craft of carpenter and wheelwright, and became an architect by profession and a builder by trade.

An Irish-American architect, best known for designing the White House in Washington, D.C.&nbsp;

This wax bas-relief on glass portrait is of James Hoban, c 1800. An Irish-American who was an architect of the White House and many other Washington, D.C. landmarks. The portrait is attributed to John Christian Rauschner, a German sculptor who specialized in wax portraits. It was acquired for the White House Collection by the White House Historical Association in 1976.

James Hoban

SITES

DRAWINGS