The White House
Matthew A. McIntosh noted "The White House is not merely a structure; it is a symbol made stone, a spatial embodiment of a nation’s evolving conception of authority, elegance, and restraint. Though its silhouette is instantly recognizable, the meanings encoded within its neoclassical columns, its carefully chosen site, and its subsequent renovations reveal a history layered with ambition, contradiction, and reinvention."
The White House is the product of a 1792 design competition, with the winner picked by President Washington. George Washington "insisted the house be large enough to command respect abroad and signify stability at home... The house was to be more than a dwelling; it was to be a stage upon which the presidency would be enacted." Truman "was conscious of the symbolic power of the White House, and committed to preserving that symbol" even when completely renovating its interior.
Irish-born architect James Hoban designed the original White House, which had a short life — only 14 years. During the war of 1812, British soldiers set fire to the house (and a number of other government buildings) in what is now described as the Burning of Washington. On August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812, British troops entered Washington, D.C. and burned the White House in retaliation for the American attack on York in Ontario, Canada. This was the only time since the Revolutionary War that a foreign power captured and occupied a United States capital.
The 1814 destruction struck not just a building but the image of the nation itself. The ruins exposed the vulnerability of American institutions. The building's destruction ultimately reinforced its symbolic significance. The burning was a humiliating defeat that struck at the symbolic heart of the country.
From those bitter ashes a resilient nation emerged stronger and more unified. The burning of Washington symbolized that the young nation built upon democracy and freedom was able to take a major world power head-on and come out victorious, as Washington was quickly rebuilt. Hoban would oversee the reconstruction, which was completed in 1817. Working with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Hoban would later add the South and North Porticos in 1824 and 1829, respectively.
Since the early 1960s, each presidential administration has seen the White House as a kind of living museum, making changes to the decor and maintaining the building's structure and exterior, but making very limited alterations to the architecture and layout. In the early 1990s, the White House exterior was extensively refurbished, with some 40 layers of paint removed and the sandstone exterior repaired and repainted.
Although predating the formal Secretary's Standards and the NHPA (enacted in 1966), First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's restoration project set a precedent for historic preservation at the White House and influenced later standards. She established the White House Fine Arts Committee and the White House Historical Association to restore interiors with authentic historic furnishings, decorative arts, and objects, emphasizing the building as a "living museum."
This aligned with future standards by retaining and repairing distinctive materials and features rather than replacing them, avoiding false historical recreations, and preserving the property's historic character. The project also prevented the demolition of historic homes in Lafayette Square, leading to its designation as a National Register Historic District in 1970. Her efforts culminated in Executive Order 11145 (March 7, 1964), establishing the permanent Committee for the Preservation of the White House to oversee ongoing preservation, which has guided subsequent projects in line with emerging standards.
Truman White House Reconstruction (1948–1952), predating the Secretary's Standards, exemplifies the "reconstruction" treatment by dismantling and rebuilding the interior while preserving the historic exterior walls and facade. Prompted by structural failures, the project gutted the interior, installed a new steel frame, updated utilities (plumbing, wiring, heating, and air conditioning), and added sub-basements, but retained original room configurations and reinstalled historic elements where possible.
This approach mirrored the standards' emphasis on reconstructing non-surviving portions based on documentary evidence, using new materials only where necessary, and protecting the property's historic character as a record of its time. Modern analyses often cite it as an early model for such treatments in federal properties.
Rose Garden Renovation (2020), overseen by First Lady Melania Trump, directly referenced the Secretary's Standards in its planning documents. The project rehabilitated the garden—originally designed in 1962 by Rachel Lambert Mellon under President Kennedy—by updating infrastructure (irrigation, drainage, lighting, and accessibility), refreshing plantings, and returning to the 1962 footprint while preserving key historic elements like the Kennedy-era saucer magnolias.
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