Formerly known as the President’s House, then the Executive Mansion, and now for a long time the White House, this famous structure has a fascinating architectural history of ongoing change. The white painted façade of James Hoban’s original structure has been added to and strengthened for more than 200 years, and its interior is a repository of some of America’s greatest treasures. Artists such as Benjamin Latrobe, Pierre-Antoine Bellangé, the Herter Brothers, Louis Tiffany, Charles McKim, Lorenzo Winslow, Stephane Boudin, Edward Vason Jones, and a host of others fashioned interiors that welcomed and inspired visitors both foreign and domestic. This meticulous history, featuring more than 325 photographs, diagrams and other illustrations, captures each stage of the White House’s architectural and decorative evolution.

Patrick Phillips-Schrock is a professor of French and history from Des Moines, Iowa.

Patrick Phillips-Schrock

Foreword by James Archer Abbott

Format: softcover (8.5 x 11)
Pages: 224
Bibliographic Info: 457 (40 in color) photos, appendices, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2020 [2013]
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8518-2
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9330-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments       ix

Foreword by James Archer Abbott       1

Introduction       3

1. The First Presidential Houses in New York City and Philadelphia, 1789–1800       5

2. The President’s Palace Planned, 1790–1792       18

3. Competition for the Design of the President’s House, 1792       20

4. Construction, 1792–1800       31

5. Revision, 1801–1809       33

Between pages 38 and 39 are 16 color plates containing 40 images

6. The Burning of the President’s House, 1814–1815       39

7. Rebuilding the Executive Mansion, 1815–1860       41

8. Modernization, 1860–1902       49

9. Restoration of the White House, 1902–1916       57

10. Enlargement, 1927–1945       65

11. Renovation, 1949–1952       70

12. Revitalization, 1961–1969       77

13. Preservation, 1970–2012       82

14. The White House as a National Monument       89

15. Interior Detail: The Blue Room, 1792–2012       96

Appendices:

A. The Entrance Hall       115

B. The East Room       117

C. The Former Grand Stair and the State Dining Room       120

D. The Family Dining Room       125

E. The North Central Suite       128

F. Comparisons of the Château de Rastignac with the White House       131

G. The White House in Miniature       133

H. White House Interiors in Film       134

I. The Bellangé Oval Room Suite       136

J. The Orangery and Conservatories       139

K. The Jefferson Icehouse, 1801       143

L. The White House Visitor Center       144

M. Selected Inventories and Room Usage       145

The Three Floors of Hoban’s Original Design, 1792       145

Inventory of the President’s House, February 26, 1801       146

Inventory of the President’s House, February 19, 1809       148

1817 Shipment of Furnishings       154

Inventory of the Executive Mansion, March 25, 1825       157

Inventory of Furniture (etc.) in the President’s House, January 1st, 1849       162

1865 Inventory of the President’s House, May 26, 1865       167

Partial List of Furnishings in the White House, 1946       172

New Furniture and Furnishings, 1952       174

Donations Received During Renovation Period (1952)       178

Room Usage in 2010       178

Partial Inventory of Furnishings in the Philadelphia President’s House, 1797       180

Commentary on the Inventories       182

Notes       185

Bibliography  190

Index  193

• “Splendid…highly recommended”—Choice

•“A strong addition…very highly recommended”—Midwest Book Review

• “Phillips-Schrock shows the evolution of the White House from palace to house to palace-fortress”—Reference & Research Book News.