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The Construction of the White House
Michelle Paredes
Dr. Kristen Parrish
Construction 101: Construction and Culture: A Built Environment
4 November 2019
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Abstract
The research shown below shows a significant construction project and how difficult it
was to perfect a large mansion prior to the 1950’s. It revolves around the materials available in
the late 1700’s and early 1800’s as the individuals involved in the making of such a large
mansion. Including, there will be sections about the renovations and different materials added
to the mansion. Also, there will be a segment designated for how the project could be
constructed more efficiently today.
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Significance of the White House
Why is a white mansion so significant? The White House isn’t just a luxurious home, but
it stands for democracy and freedom. Just like any other symbols of America, it stays for the
unionized citizens of this country. People believed that the president and future presidents of
America needed a stable place to live in, in just one central location. One of the founders of this
house was George Washington who with the help of the government was able to build a city
that was designated just the government. The city that we all know today as Washington,
District of Columbia. The city was named after our first president and also Christopher
Columbus. This small city became the capitol of the nation and the city where the leaders of
America work. This house belongs to the people as well as the president. Every year millions of
people all across the world go and visit the site and citizens all across America are always
welcomed. There is even a floor on the house that was made specifically so individuals can go
and visit.
Background Information
The White House is a building that has been around for hundreds of years, since our first
president George Washington chose the site in which this house would be created. The
construction of the White House started in 1791 and it took eight years to finalize. The first
individuals to ever move into the house were President John Adams and his wife Abigail. The
White House was built because the congress, George Washington, and citizens believed the
president and future presidents needed a home. This was very controversial, someone wanted
to build a castle and others thought a simple home would be better. Not only was choosing the
building a difficult choice but finding a location was difficult as well. Since our first president
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lived in three different houses, he had to figure out what location would be better for the
finalized home. After many negotiations and hard thinking, congress and the president decided
building the White House in Washington, D.C. was the ideal location. Washington, D.C. was a
quiet and calm place where hardly anyone lived in. Our first president hired numerous people
to construct Washington D.C. In order to decide what the house was going to look like, Thomas
Jefferson decided to make a contest and spread the word all across the nation.The person with
the best design was Architect James Hoban because it was simple yet an elegant look for the
house of the future presidents. After eight years when John Adams moved in, the house wasn’t
completely ready, there were still some finishes going on around the house and it needed more
work done. After one more year passed, the finishing structures were completed.
Who Built the White House?
Figure 1: Shows how African American slaves helped to build the White House
https://www.thoughtco.com/surprising-facts-about-the-washington-dc-white-house-178508
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The person who designed the White House was an Irish architect named James Hoban.
The ideal plan was to hire workers from Europe to construct the building but due to financial
problems that didn’t happen. Instead African American slaves were the ones that provided the
labor. istant and the president as well as Hoban Four slaves were owned by the architect’s ass
relied on them for labor. The families of the slaves lived in the basement of the White House.
The White House took a large team to be built and a different variety of civilizations. As stated
in <Yes, Slaves Did Help Build the White House=, <The construction team included white
laborers from Maryland and Virginia and immigrants from Ireland, Scotland and other parts of
Europe&= (Hirschfeld D. 1). Meaning that recruiting the European individuals wasn’t easy so in
order to build this house, immigrants and slaves were hired. In the 21 century many people
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didn’t know that this mansion was built by slaves since it was hidden and there is still people
who chose to not believe that African American slaves had a huge role in the creation of the
White House.
The White House stood strongly for thirteen years and John Adams and his family were
able to live in it. It wasn’t until a British invasion in 1814 when the house was set on fire. There
was heavy rain the day it was burning which prevented the house from completely breaking
down. All of the exterior walls were shattered, and the structure was completely destroyed. It
wasn’t until 1817 that the White House was reconstructed, and all the damages were fixed. It
was painted white to cover all the marks that the British soldiers had done when it was set on
fire. The White House didn’t have an official name until the nineteen hundred’s, before that it
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was called various names. It wasn’t until President Theodore Roosevelt felt like the home
needed a name to distinguish it from all the other mansions.
The location of the White House differentiated it from the others and many citizens
weren’t satisfied with the location. As mentioned in, <Inside the 18th -century contest to build
the White House=, the Secretary of the Treasury wanted the capital to be located in a northern
city, southern leaders proposed for it to be built in a agriculture regions, and businessmen
proposed for it to be built in New York. Meaning that many people were unhappy when
president George Washington chose for the location to be in between Maryland and Virginia an
empty location where no one expected it to be.
The city of Washington D.C. was created to become the seat of the government and the
nation’s capital. Washington D.C. was originally and small place where hardly anyone lived in
now 200 years later it has developed into a complex city. The city has a large African-American
population but it has a diverse ethnic population. In the beginning of the 1800’s the population
maintained very small and it was even starting to decrease because of the War of 1812 and
later in 1847 because a portion of the city belonged to Virginia.
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Figure 2: Leinster House, the building that inspired the design of the White House
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leinster_House
The White House was inspired by a building in Ireland and was based on classical Greek
architecture. Usually around the 1800’s masons would construct with red brick but since this
was going to be a presidential home, they decided to cover the mansion with sandstone. In
order to seal sandstone in place, a thick whitewash was used. This whitewash worked just like
glue and solved the problem of loose sandstone. The White House was white since the moment
it was first made which is how it got its name. The house has a chamber, grand staircase, and
six floors as well as a basement. The total cost to build the house was $232,372 in the 1800’s, in
today’s approximation cost is 63 million dollars. The north side of the mansion is sixty feet and
four inches tall. The south side of the mansion is 70 feet tall. The width in total of the house is
152 feet and its length is 168 feet. It took 570 gallons of paint to cover the outside surface of
the walls. This building has survived over two fires. In 1835 there was central heating and
running water added and there w electric lights until 1891. The White House has a total eren’t
of six floors with two public floors, two basements, and two floors for the first family. The total
approximation of the floor space is 55,000 square feet. In the residence there is 132 rooms and
35 bathrooms included in the residence. This house contains a tennis court, swimming pool,
and a tennis court covering 18 acres of land.
The person supervising the construction of the building was George Washington and
was the first to lay a cornerstone on the site. During the late 1700’s, it was common to use brick
to build houses, but Washington wanted something more different which is why they made it
with sandstone. The masons had trouble with the sandstone and figured out how to set it in
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place by using whitewash. This whitewash that was added made the gray stone disappear and
the color turned white. In order to be able to access the sandstone, it had to be shipped on a
boat from Aquia, Virginia. Not being able to get a hold of the materials quickly caused the
project to slow down and there were parts that remained unfinished at the time. Although the
exterior walls were made out of stone, the inside of the building was constructed by wood and
it had a low tolerance to fire.
Figure 3: Demonstrates the White House’s low tolerance to fire
https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/artwork/dolley-madison-comes-to-the-
rescue/
Due to its low tolerance to fire, it has suffered three fire disasters since the 1800’s.
These fire disasters have completely destroyed the building causing architects to reconstruct
the building and adding a few renovations on the building across the period of time. As
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mentioned in <How Much of the Original White House is Actually Left?=, <In 1948, when the
White House was just over 150 years old, it was very run down and was eventually declared
structurally unsound= (Will 1). Showing how over the years the White House hasn’t
been able to carry itself and became unsafe in the 1950’s. Since it was unsafe, President
Truman who was living there at the time had to move out while the house was being
renovated. President Truman was able to convince Congress to not condemn the building and
he pushed forward the renovations. The exterior stone walls were the only thing that remained
the same since the 1800’s the rest of the interior was constructed with new infrastructure. Over
the years there were more floor levels added to the building since new materials and tools
were invented. There were even elevators added to the building was it was renovated.
After the first fire of the building, renovations began. In 1824, there was a porch and a
library added. Also, Louis Tiffany a designer was hired to decorate the house. In 1866, the
decoration of the house was changed into more bold designs. Not only this, but there were
glasshouses added to the two sides of the mansion. In 1891, there were no more gas lamps
instead there were electric lights. The mansion was originally constructed with wooden beams
and in 1927 they were changed for steel beams. In 1948 Truman wanted a balcony on the
second floor and when this was about to happen, the workers on the site discovered the
building to be unstable. Due to this, in 1952 the building was rebuilt using concrete and then
more steel beams were added. During this same period of time, a sub-basement was
constructed so most of the machinery of the White House could be placed in there. After the
mansion was constructed, columns were constructed so the roof could have support in the
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entrance of the house. The White House required over 2,170 liters of paint in order to cover the
outside of the house.
Luckily there hasn’t been any harm done to the people who have been in the White
House during recent fires. As stated in <Fire in a White House Office Building=, <&.fire affected a
ceremonial office in the interior part of the second floor, one that contained some historic
furnishes and artifacts= (J. Lyons 1). The reason no one has been hurt in reason years in the fires
of the white house is because of the fire detectors. Which helped alert all the people in the
building to start evacuating quickly.
If the White House would have been constructed today it would be entirely different
since how it was first built. It would definitely be twice or even three times as bigger. As
America being one of the richest countries in the world, with the president having the largest
home would prove that. One of the most important factors that would be changed is the
resistance to fire. Thousands of people surround the mansion daily and definitely the resistance
to fire would be one of the most important factors to focus on. Today, there would be fire walls
and fire partitions to help reduce the risk of spreading fire. Also, with this it will give the people
visiting the area as well as the president time to escape the mansion. The building would also
have more than one column so the roof can have support and not collapse which was one of
the fails in the White house. The mansion would have large water flows protecting the wall of
the house from cracking due to excess water. The house would be more modern with large
glass windows and new technology operating the house. Having a bright and vivid house would
demonstrate the progress of America, yet with the columns it would still keep part of its roots.
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One of the methods that would still be used today is the way the project was chosen.
There would still be a contest where everyone can enter and design the best house for the
president. Some of the few things that would change with that is that the project has to be
unique. The house of the president can’t resemble like any other house across the world. Since
America is one of the greatest nations with powerful leaders, their house should stand out from
the rest. Also, the people who would construct the house today would not be slaves. Now in
the 21 century Washington, D.C. is not the city of slaves. There would be different architects
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and construction workers from all across the world participating in a huge structure. The
construction site would be made up of knowledgeable construction workers and not a team of
slaves. No one would be forced or subjected to participating in the project. The house would
still be colored white since it does represent freedom. The color would definitely be one of the
key factors that wouldn’t change. To the citizens of America this mansion could be described as
a beautiful and huge mansion. To the Architects from the 20 century and forward, they
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probably view it as a catastrophe. The mansion was the largest home in America but not the
safest to live in since the home always needed repairs. Architects could see all the different
failures the house had. Beginning with the type of material available, the lack of columns used,
the home not being fire resistant, and the cracks on the building. The person who runs this
country needs a home will it would not break down which is why all the renovations were made
to it. Every couple of years something was changed about the home causing it to become
stronger and to develop into an even bigger structure. Historical figures were kept and new and
more modern features were also developed in the White House.
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Figure 4: Large crowds visiting the White House
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-white-house/
In conclusion, the house of the president is a historical building that has been around for
over 200 years. It has been able to stay in place because of renovation and improvements that
have been done to the mansion. Even though the White House was one of the largest houses in
the 1800’s, America has evolved and expanded now the White House isn’t the largest house.
The size isn’t the significance of the White House, the significance is that it represents
democracy and freedom. Despite the fires that occurred in the mansion, the house couldn’t be
destroyed. Americans never gave up on such a large and significant structure. The cost of such a
large and beautiful structure was $63 million, showing how the government didn’t use all of the
countries money on developing such an expensive home but they focused on the symbolization
of the house. Due to the construction of the White House and capitol, such a small city became
a place where millions of people dream of going to. George Washington did an amazing job
with providing a city and a home for the future presidents and their families.
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Works Cited
Bigler, B. P. (2019, June 6). White House. Retrieved November 1, 2019,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/White-House-Washington-DC.
Davis, J. H. (2016, July 26). Yes, Slaves Did Help Build the White House. Retrieved October 30,
2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/27/us/politics/michelle-obama-white-house-
slavery.html?searchResultPosition=6.
How Much of the Original White House is Actually Left? (2019, August 12). Retrieved November
2, 2019, https://ancestralfindings.com/how-much-of-the-original-white-house-is-actually-left/.
Lyons, P. J. (2007, December 19). Fire in a White House Office Building. Retrieved October 28,
2019, https://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/fire-in-office-building-next-to-white-
house/?searchResultPosition=1.
Rebuilding the White House. Retrieved November 1, 2019,
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/construction-of-the-white-house/rebuilding-the-white-house.
The White House. Retrieved October 30, 2019, https://www.whitehouse.gov/.
