Scott Nordheimer Profile

When the Americans decided to build a city from which to run their new nation, Washington D.C. It was nothing more than a barren land irrigated by the Potomac River. Today, from the White House, its central emblem, will settle the most important decisions affecting not only the United States but the entire world. Get to know the history of the White House, one of the most famous buildings in the United States.

Construction of the White House cost more than $ 200,000

On October 3, 1792, he laid the foundation stone of what was then known as the Executive Mansion. The idea of building a presidential house was George Washington, who appointed the architect James Hoban to design the house, inspired by the Parliament of Ireland and the Castle of Rastignac, located in the French town of Dordogne.

History of the White House
Rastignac Castle was the inspiration for the White House.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.

In neoclassical style, the mansion finished being constructed in the year 1800, with a total cost superior to the 200,000 dollars of the time. To realize the peculiar facade was used the carved stone of Scotland, leaving the house of gray color. In 1814 the British army destroyed part of the dwelling. After its reconstruction, it was painted completely of white, conserving the color until our days.

History of the White House

The White House is valued at 319 million dollars

A curiosity in the history of the White House is that the first to give the name of White House was the president Theodore Roosevelt in 1901. During his mandate, one of the most important remodelings of the interior was carried out, since it was constructed, in 1902, the Office Oval, the permanent place from where works the American president of the shift. Another important novelty was the one built during John F. Kennedy's term in 1961, during the Bay of Pigs conflict, to create The Situation Room, the crisis room from which the most relevant decisions are made.