Architectural Improvements: 1825-1860

The north face, circa 1860, with Jefferson statue (Library of Congress - heavily restored)

The south face, circa 1848, a century before the Truman Balcony (Library of Congress - John Plumbe - moderately restored)

 

 

Porticos and Modernization

Benjamin Henry Latrobe had done proposals that included porticos for the north and south side as early as 1807. They were very much in vogue and in keeping with the style of the house. In his term, Thomas Jefferson commissioned Latrobe to make various architectural changes, including small pavilions on the east and west side. Jefferson's east pavilion's fancy entrance fell down before it was finished and was never completed.

 

Latrobe's first floor plan of 1824

But Latrobe wanted to completely redesign in the interior of the White House, walling it off into small antechambers and parlors. Ultimately, James Hoban returned to add south and north porticos in 1825 and 1829. The porticos were an unqualified success, finally replacing the clumsy wooden porches and platforms that had plagued past first families.

Château de Rastignac (1817), possibly a direct influence
(Jacques Mossot)

 

Contrary to widely-published myth, the North Portico was not modeled on a similar portico on the Viceregal Lodge (now Áras an Uachtaráin, residence of the president of Ireland); it actually postdates the White House portico's design; but it is unclear of there was influence from the 1817 Château de Rastignac in France.

Additional changes followed in the 1830s, when running water and central heating were installed under Andrew Jackson. Gaslight was installed in 1848. The original furnace occupied what is now the Diplomatic Reception Room and the later boiler even extended out into the ground floor hallway.

Stables occupied the end of the west pavilion but, in 1857, a glass conservatory was constructed on the west terrace to provide flowers and other plants to the White House.

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    Thomas Walter's 1853 ground floor plan (LOC)

    Running water was piped into the White House in 1833.
  • A central heating system was installed in the White House in 1837 when many people still warmed themselves with a log or coal fire.
  • Gaslighting, installed in the White House in 1848, replaced candles and oil lamps.
  • Running hot water was first piped into the first family’s second floor bathroom in 1853.

In the time of President Tyler, the acclaimed author Charles Dickens wrote of his visit:

The President's mansion is more like an English clubhouse, both within and without, than any other kind of establishment with which I can compare it. The ornamental ground about it has been laid out in garden walks; they are pretty, and agreeable to the eye; though they have that uncomfortable air of having been made yesterday, which is far from favorable to the display of such beauties.

 

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More Images

The south face, circa 1870, with the large conservatories on the west side (Library of Congress - moderately restored)

The north face, circa 1860, with Jefferson statue (Library of Congress - heavily restored)

The north face, circa 1853, with iron fence (Library of Congress)

The second floor plan in 1853 (Library of Congress)

The first floor plan in 1853 (Library of Congress)

The ground floor plan in 1853 (full width) (Library of Congress)

The south face, circa 1848, a century before the Truman Balcony (Library of Congress - John Plumbe - moderately restored)

Benjamin Henry Latrobe's south face proposal to Thomas Jefferson, drawn circa 1824:
porticos (with central stairs) and colonnaded galleries east and west (Library of Congress)