Podcast White House Builder James Hoban’s Irish Roots
Over 200 years ago, James Hoban left Ireland for America to pursue his dream of becoming an architect. Selected by President...
White House Plumbing Installation
President John Quincy Adams was an avid gardener who expanded the White House garden to two acres. An iron garden pump with "nine spout holes" was attached to a well at the Treasury building and provided water for the grounds. The Committee on Public Buildings discussed piping running water into the house in 1829 for fire protection, not convenience. President James Monroe had purchased a fire engine, no doubt with the destruction of 1814 in mind, which was kept parked with the White House coaches.
A detail from a watercolor of the White House grounds about 1827. 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.
Anthony St. John Baker, Memoires d'un voyageur qui se repose: With illustrations.... (London: Priv. print., 1850), RB 286000, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California "President's House, Washington";White House and Capitol, c. 1826 [watercolor]You Might Also Like
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Podcast Dinner with the President
From hot dogs to haute cuisine, U.S. Presidents have communicated important messages through food. Stewart McLaurin, President of the...
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Collection The 2023 White House Christmas Ornament
Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament....
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Collection Weddings and the White House
From First Lady Dolley Madison's sister Lucy Payne Washington's wedding in 1812 to the nuptials of President Joseph Biden and First...
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Collection The Ford White House 1974 - 1977
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the nation’s only unelected president and vice president, served thirteen terms in Congress before rising to...
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Collection Native Americans and the White House
Native Americans hold a significant place in White House history. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples, including the Nacotchtank and...
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Collection The 2021 White House Christmas Ornament
Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament....
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Collection Presidential and First Lady Portraits
Since 1965, the White House Historical Association has been proud to fund the official portraits of our presidents and first ladies,...
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Podcast 250 Years of American Political Leadership
The American experiment has long held the curiosity of people around the world, especially for Iain Dale, an award-winning British...
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Collection The 2022 White House Christmas Ornament
Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament....
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Podcast Becoming FDR: The Personal Crisis That Made a President
In 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was sworn in for the first of his four terms as president of the United States....
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Collection The Decatur House Slave Quarters
In 1821-1822, Susan Decatur requested the construction of a service wing. The first floor featured a large kitchen, dining room,...
