September 9, 2019 (Monday)
I’ve written about a few of of our presidents. Today I want to write about the house they lived in, in Washington, D.C. The District of Columbia was established and the city of Washington became a planned city from the ground up. The White House was part of the plans.
George Washington was inaugurated in New York City and had a residence there. He never lived in the White House. Philadelphia was also tagged for a presidential residence, and John Adams occupied a house there until the White House in Washington was pronounced livable, although unfinished. He then moved to a hotel near the President’s House and finally moved into it in November, 1800. He and his wife, Abigail, found it to be cold and drafty and lived there only five months before being unseated as president by Thomas Jefferson. Abigail moved back to Massachusetts and John followed on the day of Jefferson’s inauguration.
In 1814, during Madison’s presidency and the War of 1812, the British burned the White House. It was repaired and rebuilt and the next president, James Monroe, moved in.
In the year 1877, when Hayes was president, a telephone was installed in the White House. Hardly anyone else had a telephone, and the device was scarcely ever used.
As the 20th Century got under way, President Teddy Roosevelt and his family of six children enjoyed playing with each other in the mansion. About this time, renovations and repairs were necessary and a wing was added for executive offices. Roosevelt nicknamed the house as “The White House,” and the name stuck. The next president, Taft, added the oval office.
When Truman became president, he discovered that the big mansion was in dire need of major repairs. The building was gutted, rebuilt with steel and repaired outside so that when all was said and done, it looked virtually the same. But major changes had been made and the White House has served all presidents well since.
Jackie Kennedy held open house via television so that all of us could look inside and see the elegance which she felt the nation deserved in their Executive Mansion.