The White House

in honour of the inauguration of Barack Obama today, a few facts about his new Georgian  Neoclassical address.

first off, he might want a map: the place has 132 rooms.

the original building was designed by James Hoban, an Irishman who may have based his contest-winning plan on Leinster House in Ireland (now home to the Irish Parliament). the painting by N.C.Wyeth shows Washington and Hoban discussing the construction.

the building was begun in 1792 and built of  Virginia sandstone, quarried by slaves & free workers. Scottish stone workers, alongside Irish and Italian brick workers, did much of the detail work on the building.

in 1800, John Adams moved in, though the interior wasn’t yet finished. during the war of 1812, the building was burned down by British/Canadian soldiers. the damage led to a white-washing of the stonework…which is why the building came to be known as “the White House”. the name only became official in 1901 under Teddy Roosevelt.

to bring all this up-to-date, the Obamas have already chosen their decorator–Michael S. Smith from Santa Monica will redo the private rooms for the First Family. this living room is from Smith’s book of interiors…he’s known for child-friendly combinations of formal antiques & more contemporary fabrics, which sounds like a sensible combo for the White House.

for their decor, the Obamas will be able to wade through the 40,000 sqft warehouse of White House furnishings; since the Kennedy administration, nothing has been thrown out. that must be quite the warehouse!