That Time the White House Was Worth $400 Million

Heyo! Happy Monday! First That Time... post of 2024! It's been a while since I wrote one of these. Originally, this was supposed to be a quick random trivia post, but then I started reading about the White House and fell down a rabbit hole and now it's become something completely different.

Yes, you read the title correctly. According to Zillow, the White House is worth $397.9 million. It has 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms across 6 levels. It is 55,000 square feet. No wonder it's worth so much. So let's get into the history of this historical presidential mansion.

The White House as it stands today

George Washington became the first president of the United States in April 1789. Being that he was the first and that the nation was just born, there was no official home of the president just yet. So President Washington occupied the Franklin House - owned by Treasury Commissioner, Samuel Osgood - until February 1790 and then the Alexander Macomb House until August 1790. Both residences were in New York City.

In May 1790, a new residence began construction in Manhattan. It would become Government House, but President Washington never lived there because, by the time the construction had been completed, the country's capital was moved to Philadelphia, where it would remain for a decade. In Philidelphia, the mansion of a merchant by the name of Robert Morris became the President's House. President Washington lived in that residence from November 1790 until March 1787.

President's House in Philadelphia, PA

After the election of John Adams, he lived in the mansion from March 1797 until May 1800. The City of Philadelphia began building a new presidential mansion for President Adams which was completed in 1797 by the time of his inauguration, but he never occupied it claiming to not have Congressional approval. The mansion remained empty until it was sold to the University of Pennsylvania in 1800.

On Saturday, November 1, 1800, President John Adams became the first president to reside in the White House. The original White House was designed by architect, James Hoban, who also designed the US Capitol. Building began in 1782 and ended in 1800. After moving into the new mansion, President Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail: "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this House, and all that shall thereafter inhabit it. May not but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.". Over a hundred years later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt would have the quote carved into the mantle in the State Dining Room.

The White House was originally referred to as the President's Palace, Presidential Mansion, or the President's House. The first recording of calling it the White House goes back to 1811. It was also referred to as the Executive Mansion until President Theodore Roosevelt created an executive order calling it The White House officially, in 1901. The White House has appeared on the $20 bill since 1998.

After President Thomas Jefferson moved into the White House in 1801, he claimed it was "big enough for two emperors, one pope, and the grand lama in the bargain". However, he would add to the Presidential mansion. Working with Benjamin Henry Latrobe, President Jefferson helped design the East and West Colonnades that link the East and West Wings with the mansion.

Burning of the White House by Tom Freeman

During the War of 1812, the White House was burnt by British forces. Most of the mansion was ransacked and destroyed with only the exterior walls remaining. However, they had to be torn down due to the fire wearing the stability. To this day, of everything in the White House that was stolen by the British troops, only three items have ever been recovered: a copy of the Landsdowne portrait, a jewelry chest, and a medicine cabinet.

The Octagon House where President Madison resided from 1814-1815

Following the fire, President James Madison resided in the Octagon House from 1814 until 1815. He then resided in the Seven Buildings for the rest of his term. Both James Hoban and Benjamin Henry Latrobe worked together to design the rebuilding of the White House which lasted from 1815 until 1817.

The South Portico was constructed in 1824 under President James Monroe and designed by Hoban who also designed the North Portico which was built in 1830.

After President A. Arthur took office in 1881, he ordered renovations as soon as the newly widowed Lucretia Garfield moved out. Old furniture was sold so new furniture could be brought in. The only thing saved were busts and portraits of former presidents, John Adams and Martin van Buren. Also under President Arthur's administration, a 50-foot Tiffany glass screen was added.

Tiffany glass screen added by President Arthur

In 1891, First Lady Caroline Harrison proposed an extension for the east, which would add a historical art gallery and an extension for the west for official functions.

President Theodore Roosevelt hired McKim, Mead & White to expand and renovate in a neoclassical style to compliment the building's architecture. This renovation removed the Tiffany screen as well as all Victorian additions. President T. Roosevelt is quoted as stating:

"The White House is the property of the Nation, and so far is compatible with living therein it should be kept as it originally was, for the same reasons that we keep Mount Vernon as it originally was. The stately simplicity of it's architecture is an expression of the character of the period in which it was built, and is in accord with the purposes it was designed to serve. It is a good thing to preserve such buildings as historic monuments which keep alive our sense of continuity with the Nation's past."

President William H. Taft enlisted the help of Nathan C. Wyeth to add space to the west wing and this is when the Oval Office was created. American Home Shield has a very interesting article about the evolution of the Oval Office and created 3D renderings of each office.

3D rendering of President Taft's Oval Office

During President Calvin Coolidge's administration, Congress enacted legislation to allow the White House to accept gifts of furniture and art.

In the 1930s, a second story was added as was a larger basement for staff. President Franklin Roosevelt had the Oval Office moved to its present location adjacent to the rose garden. During Roosevelt's administration, the White House became the first wheelchair-accessible government building in Washington.

President Harry S. Truman's presidency, he commissioned a reconstruction of the mansion after it was declared a danger of collapsing due to poor maintenance and the several additions over the years. He lived at Blair House from 1949 until 1951 when the reconstruction was completed by John McShain. The reconstruction required the complete dismantling of interior spaces and construction of a load-bearing steel frame which means the rooms had to be completely reconstructed. That was the last time anything was changed architecturally at the White House.

Renovation of the White House during the Truman Administration

With the help of Henry Francis de Pont, Jaqueline Kennedy directed a historic redecoration of the mansion with the help of Stephanie Boudin. First Lady Kennedy, showed off the renovations in a 1961 televised tour on Valentine's Day.

Since the Kennedy restoration, any changes to the staterooms must be approved by the Committee for the Preservation of the White House after Congress had declared the White House a museum in 1961,

First Lady Pat Nixon acquired over 600 artifacts which to this day is the largest acquisition by any administration. President Richard Nixon created a press briefing room and added a single-lane bowling alley to the basement.

President Jimmy Carter added solar water heating panels that were then removed by President Ronald Reagan, but then reinstalled during the President George W. Bush administration.

In 2013, President Barack Obama had solar panels installed on the roof of the White House. That was the most recent change to the White House as of writing and researching this post.

President Joe Biden in his Oval Office, 2022

If you enjoyed learning about the history of the White House, please check out my other That Time... posts! And if you have any other weird or interesting things in history, drop them in the comments! I'm always looking for new things to learn and write about. Have a great week!