Why is the White House white?
Posted on 17. Mar, 2010 by Iwind in History
The white house was built out of white painted aquia sandstone between 1792 and 1800. It is the official residence and workplace of the President of the United States, and all presidents have lived there since John Adams. The white house is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. It was originally built out of white-painted sandstone, but there is also an interesting explanation why the white house was later painted white.
14 years after the white house was finished it was set on fire by the British Army in the Burning of Washington. The building took massive damages both to the interior and the exterior. Being such an important building for the Americans reconstruction began almost immediately, and one of the first things that were done was to pain the whole building white to cover all the burn marks. You can therefore say that the reason why is the white house white today, is because of the British Army setting it ablaze in 1814.
President James Monroe moved into the white house when it was partially reconstructed in 1817, 3 years after the fire. Since then the white house have been expanded and reconstructed several times. The south portico was added in 1824 and the north portico was added in 1829. In 1901 the west wing completed, and almost all the work offices were relocated there. Today the white house has 6 floors and is totaling over 55,000 square feet. Most of the actual living area is on the top two floors.
The Executive Residence is 6 stories totaling 55,000 square feet. The actual living space is on the top two floors. There are 132 rooms in the white house and it is divided up in the the executive residence, the old executive office building, the west wing, the cabinet room, Roosevelt’s room and the east wing. The bright white color of the white house looks really beautiful in the summer surrounded by green grass, trees and flowers, so that is probably another reason why the white house is still white today.
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