The White House an Illustrated Tour
The White House an Illustrated Tour takes its readers on a descriptive journey down the hallways and through the history of America’s home. An icon in its own right emerging from rocky beginnings, overcoming a fiery past, to be reborn from the ashes and becoming what we all know today.
The final design of what we see today went through many changes over the years. It began with a contest in which there was 9 submissions the winner an Irish architect named James Haban was chosen by President George Washington himself. The work was set to begin in the late summer of 1792, but due to lack of local stone masons and having to wait on stone masons to arrive from Ireland work didn’t start until the fall of that year. The stones were mined in Virginia, the bricks used were made from the very soil on the …show more content…
Like sweet intervention a rare hurricane hit the next morning and extinguished the blaze and sent the British troops running. The damage was done though only leaving a shell behind. The president ordered the rebuild immediately despite congress dragging the project out.
The mansion was rebuilt and reopened by 1818 and renamed the Executive Mansion it would be yet another 100 years before it would be dubbed the White House by President Theodore Roosevelt. The only years that nothing was changed was during the Van Buren administration, but kept the mansion polished and in good repair.
Over the years the mansion has seen great sorrow as well as great happiness. The first death was that of William Henry Harrison who dies exactly one month after taking his oath of office due to pneumonia results of a brutally cold inauguration day. Next to follow was the death of Lincoln after his life was taken by assassination. There was happiness to be had in the White House as well with the first wedding in 1843. To be followed by 2 more president’s daughters over the
The White House an Illustrated Tour takes its readers on a descriptive journey down the hallways and through the history of America’s home. An icon in its own right emerging from rocky beginnings, overcoming a fiery past, to be reborn from the ashes and becoming what we all know today.
The final design of what we see today went through many changes over the years. It began with a contest in which there was 9 submissions the winner an Irish architect named James Haban was chosen by President George Washington himself. The work was set to begin in the late summer of 1792, but due to lack of local stone masons and having to wait on stone masons to arrive from Ireland work didn’t start until the fall of that year. The stones were mined in Virginia, the bricks used were made from the very soil on the …show more content…
Like sweet intervention a rare hurricane hit the next morning and extinguished the blaze and sent the British troops running. The damage was done though only leaving a shell behind. The president ordered the rebuild immediately despite congress dragging the project out.
The mansion was rebuilt and reopened by 1818 and renamed the Executive Mansion it would be yet another 100 years before it would be dubbed the White House by President Theodore Roosevelt. The only years that nothing was changed was during the Van Buren administration, but kept the mansion polished and in good repair.
Over the years the mansion has seen great sorrow as well as great happiness. The first death was that of William Henry Harrison who dies exactly one month after taking his oath of office due to pneumonia results of a brutally cold inauguration day. Next to follow was the death of Lincoln after his life was taken by assassination. There was happiness to be had in the White House as well with the first wedding in 1843. To be followed by 2 more president’s daughters over the