The hallowed (if much renovated) halls of the White House are packed with history, some of it as unexpected as some of our nation's most famous elections. In fact, there's much more to the nation's most famous address than the Oval Office and fancy state dinners. Here are some of the more eyebrow-raising facts about America's imposing seat of executive power.
Bummer, George. Our nation's very first president, George Washington, picked the site for the White House and gave its design a thumbs-up. But he left office in 1797 and died in 1799, three years before the federal government made the leap from Philadelphia to the new capital. The brand-new White House welcomed the second president, John Adams, in 1800.
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Nine competitors proposed designs for the White House, and the contest was decided by a single judge: George Washington. Although Thomas Jefferson likely submitted a design under a pseudonym, the honor went to James Hoban, an Irish-born architect who was inspired by the Leinster House in Dublin, a grand Georgian building that now houses the Irish parliament.
Although D.C. commissioners initially planned for European laborers to build the capital, including the White House, they couldn't attract enough of them. Ultimately, more than 200 known enslaved workers set about building the White House, and at least 100 more were employed in nine presidential households, in positions from chef to maid to valet. At least a dozen presidents, from Washington to Ulysses S. Grant, were slave owners.
Experts agree that the first stone of the White House was laid in 1792, but as for where it is, well ... that's an open question. Although it was long assumed to be on the building's northeast corner, a letter constituting the only known written account of the day it was laid says it actually was placed in the southwest corner, by some rather intoxicated Freemasons. Because the plaque identifying the stone faces an adjoining stone, uncovering it would be complex and potentially damaging.
It's "the people's house," after all. In the early 1800s, visitors could stroll the grounds as often as they wanted, perhaps popping into the East Room to shake the president's hand around lunchtime. Although James Monroe added an iron fence in 1814, the gates remained open for much of the next century, closing permanently only during World War II. Security has increased steadily since then, with barriers going up at an unprecedented clip after protests over racial injustice in summer 2020.
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"Executive Mansion" and "President's House" don't have quite the same ring, but before the 20th century, both monikers were often used to refer to the White House. President Teddy Roosevelt wanted a more distinctive name, officializing its color-inspired nickname in 1901.
Turns out that keeping the White House white is an expensive, time-consuming process. It takes roughly 570 gallons of paint to keep the place looking fresh, and it's not just any paint. It's Duron's "Whisper White," imported from Germany, and it costs $150 a gallon, according to Fox Business. Why not pay $20 at Lowe's? The special paint is designed to help ward off moisture and protect the historic structure.
As important as the White House is, the federal government hasn't always been on top of maintenance. The piano of Margaret Truman, daughter of President Harry Truman, even managed to fall through rotting floorboards in 1948. Truman and his family eventually moved across the street while the crumbling interior was gutted and rebuilt around a new steel skeleton. Cost of the project: $5.4 million — or roughly $59 million in today's money.
What would you do with 132 rooms? (A game of hide-and-seek would be pretty epic, we imagine.) The White House includes a whopping 35 bathrooms, so don't worry if nature calls. And although 132 rooms might seem like a massive amount of space, consider this: Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms, including 78 bathrooms.
Sure, plenty of the White House is devoted to formal entertaining, but there are some more casual places to unwind, too. There's a movie theater, a game room, a jogging track, a tennis court, an outdoor pool, a putting green, and even a bowling alley, installed by President Richard Nixon. And it's a good thing there are so many places to burn calories — there's a chocolate shop in the basement.
And there still is — kind of. When Franklin D. Roosevelt took office, he added a 50-foot indoor swimming pool so he could stay fit, tricking it out with underwater lighting and other technology that was fancy for the '30s. He used it almost every day, and it was later a favorite of presidents Truman and Kennedy, according to Atlas Obscura. But in 1970, Nixon decided the media needed more space, and the White House Press Briefing Room was built directly over the now-empty pool. The old pool is now home to computer servers and other media equipment.
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There's not a ton of official info on current White House safety features, for obvious reasons. But there are at least two underground spaces observers know of: the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, a secure space under the East Wing that was built during World War II, and a newer, multilevel bunker that was built starting in 2010, according to The Washington Post. It's reportedly five stories deep and completely sealed off, with its own air and food supply.
If you paid attention during history class, you're probably well aware of the first fire. In 1814, British forces famously set the White House ablaze, forcing first lady Dolley Madison to flee, saving a portrait of George Washington in the process. The second, lesser-known blaze broke out in the West Wing on Christmas Eve in 1929. It required 130 firefighters to bring it under control as President Herbert Hoover watched from the top of the West Terrace, puffing a cigar.
The White House has been the setting for many a spooky story, and is supposedly home to many ghosts, presidential and otherwise. Several people have claimed to see the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, while the sound of Andrew Jackson's laughter and Thomas Jefferson's violin have spooked others. Dolley Madison is said to patrol the Rose Garden, while a British soldier roams the White House grounds with a torch. Ghost stories about a young boy called "The Thing" so irked President William Howard Taft that he told staff members they would lose their jobs for passing them on.
Picture a presidential pet, and it's likely a dog — maybe the Obamas' Bo and Sunny — or a cat such as Socks, the Clintons' feline friend. But there have been plenty more exotic animals. President Teddy Roosevelt's pets included guinea pigs, a lizard, a pig, a badger, a one-legged rooster, a hyena, and even a bear. President James Buchanan briefly kept a pair of eagles. Alligators are also rumored to have resided in the White House with at least two presidents, but these claims are unproven.
Related: A Look Back at Presidential Pets
How much would you pay for the White House? According to Zillow, fair market value in January 2021 was close to $451 million. (If you'd rather rent, you're looking at $1.7 million a month.) That's up from just shy of $400 million when President Donald Trump moved into the White House in early 2017. (For the record, that was still about four times more than the worth of his famous New York penthouse, according to Architectural Digest.)
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The White House gained its first computer, a Hewlett-Packard 3000, during the Carter administration. The West Wing also soon was equipped with its first printer: a behemoth water-cooled IBM that measured 8 by 10 by 3 feet. More familiar technologies were slower to gain a foothold. President George H.W. Bush was the first to use email in 1992, while the first White House website was produced under President Bill Clinton in 1994.
Most of us will never live or even set foot in the White House, but how about something, well, White House-inspired? Private homeowners built at least two replicas in the D.C. area, and a few are scattered across the South, reports Washington Week. And then there's the Chinese version, built by a real-estate magnate who even thought to include an Oval Office, and an Iraqi White House owned by a Kurdish businessman who installed a Turkish bath.
Historic though it is, White House decor isn't set in stone. The incoming president receives a $100,000 allowance to put a personal stamp on the residence and Oval Office. The most historic rooms (think the Lincoln Bedroom and the like) remain largely as is from administration to administration. In 2016, then-candidate Trump offered to build a $100 million ballroom on the property, but the proposal was rejected by the Obama administration.
Related: How Presidents (and First Ladies) Changed the Look of the White House
Turns out White House weddings might be a bit more common that you think. At least 18 couples have tied the knot at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Lucy Payne Washington, sister of Dolley Madison, kicked things off with her wedding to Thomas Todd in 1812. Most ceremonies have taken place in either the East Room or the Blue Room, but modern couples have favored the Rose Garden.
Elaborate Christmas decorations are a White House tradition, with President Joe's Biden including up to 6,000 feet of ribbon, 300 candles, more than 78,000 lights, and 41 Christmas trees. That might seem like a lot, but Biden's predecessors embraced the holiday spirit even more, if their Christmas tree count is any indication. The Obamas put up a record-busting 62 Christmas trees in 2015, but in 2018, the Trumps managed 81 — assuming you include Melania Trump's 40 infamous blood-red topiaries in the count.
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Former President Donald Trump had some competition when it comes to grand holiday celebrations. In 1835, President Andrew Jackson managed to pull out all the stops with nary a Christmas tree to be found. He hosted a "frolic," which was an over-the-top celebration for local children with endless games, a decadent dinner featuring sugary winter scenes, and even a no-holds-barred indoor battle with specially made frosted cotton "snowballs."
Related: Classic Destinations for an Old-Fashioned Christmas
![Easter at White House, [Washington, D.C., 4/5/26]](https://cdn.cheapism.com/images/PSX_20210114_214938.min-720x376.jpg)
