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The White House Facts

The White House Facts
The White House was built between 1792 and 1800 to house the President of the United States. The original design was created during a design contest, and nine entries were submitted. An Irish architect James Hoban designed the winning entry. Although fire destroyed much of the interior in 1814, it was reconstructed and ready once again to be the president's home in 1817. Several presidents in the White House's early years tried to have new residences built to replace the original White House but their requests were not approved. Today the White House residence is part of the White House Complex, made up of the Executive Residence, the East Wing and the West Wing.
Interesting The White House Facts:
The White House's address is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.
Washington itself was named after George Washington.
George Washington chose the winning design for the White House.
Thomas Jefferson anonymously submitted an entry into the design competition. He didn't win. He did become the third president of the United States however.
In the 1790s, the people of Philadelphia were not happy that the president's home would be in Washington, so they built their own home for the president. It failed to tempt the president to live there.
George Washington never lived in the White House in Washington, the city named for him, because he died before it was completed.
The first cornerstone was laid on October 13th, 1792.
The majority of the construction was completed by both free and enslaved African- Americans, as well as immigrants.
The very first president to move into the house was John Adams.
John Adams moved in the White House in 1800. He did not live there very long.
Thomas Jefferson moved into the White House in 1801.
On Christmas Eve in 1929, the White House had another fire, when Herbert Hoover was the president. It started because of a fireplace's blocked flue. Today the White House has 28 fireplaces.
Teddy Roosevelt was responsible for having the West Wing built. Thomas Jefferson had the idea about 100 years earlier, but his idea didn't materialize.
In 1948, when Harry S. Truman was president, the White House was almost condemned. It had to be repaired as it was close to falling down due to structural issues. The repair was completed in 1952.
There is replica of the White House in Virginia that was built using the same plans as were used for The White House. It would sell for $4 million. The real White House is worth as much as $286 million.
The original cornerstone, set in place by freemasons having a few alcoholic beverages, has not been seen since that day in 1792. Nobody knows its exact location.
The White House has 412 doors and 147 windows.
There are 35 bathrooms in the White House, and a total of 132 rooms on six levels.
Two floors of the White House are reserved for the First Family.
The White House has also been known as the President's House, the President's Palace and the Executive Mansion.
About 6,000 people visit the White House each day.
It takes 570 gallons to paint the outside of the building.
The White House Complex also has a jogging track, movie theater, billiards room, bowling lane and a tennis court.


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