Text 5. The White House

The White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is the home and office of every U.S President except George Washington who laid the cornerstone in 1793. It is based on a design by James Hoban. In the White House the pressing business of government is being conducted. The White House is museum of American history.

The White House is constructed (1800) of sandstone. In 1814, the House was burnt by the British. Later the charred remains of the building were whitewashed. Since then the House has been always painted white.

The White House has 132 rooms; 54 rooms on the second and the third floors are reserved for the First Family. Five of the rooms are open to the public. They are the Blue room, East Room, Green Room, Red Room, and State Dining Room.

A million visitors go through the White House every year free of charge. Visitors are not allowed in the rooms where the President lives and works. But occasionally the President stops by to greet tourists in the public rooms.

Most visitors to the White House enter through the East Wing Lobby. They walk through the East Garden Room to the glass-enclosed colonnade that leads to the Ground Floor of the White House. The colonnade was constructed in 1902. Along the colonnade visitors have a view of the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden. A massive bronze bust of Abraham Lincoln rests in a wall niche. Beginnings in 1994 sculpture exhibitions have been held in the Garden.

Ground Floor Corridor is made of marble. There are busts of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and other outstanding Americans. There are portraits of First Ladies.

The Library Room served as a laundry until 1902. In 1935 it was remodeled as a library. The library is furnished in the style of the Federal period. Five portraits of American Indians flank the east door. The paintings were given to the White House in 1962.

The Vermeil Room /Gold Room/ serves as a display room. There are a Turkish carpet, French mantel and portraits of Jacqueline Kennedy, Anna Roosevelt and Patricia Nixon.

The China Room was designated by Mrs. W. Wilson in 1917 to display the collection of White House china. There is the painting above the mantel “View on the Mississippi”.

The Diplomatic Reception Room serves as an entrance to the White House. It is furnished as a drawing room of the Federal period /1790-1820/.

The Map Room was used by President Roosevelt as a situation room to follow the course of the Second World War. Now it serves as a private meeting room for the President or the First Lady. It was decorated in 1994 as a sitting room in the Chippendale style.