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James Hoban's life is a memorable Irish-American success story. In his boyhood he learned the craft of carpenter and wheelwright, and became an architect by profession and a builder by trade. Hoban came to America with high ambitions, and designed and erected many buildings; but what keeps his name alive today arises from one special commission—he was the architect of
So much about the new United States was new—a democracy in a world full of monarchies, an elected president instead of a king, a people who had claimed the rights and responsibilities of citizens, to name just a few—that it should be no surprise that the location of a capital city would be addressed by the Framers of the
By nightfall on August 24, 1814, British forces had arrived on Capitol Hill and broken through the doors of the 14-year-old Capitol, initially designed by Dr. William Thornton with major interior improvements by Benjamin Henry Latrobe. The Capitol in 1814 was still a work in progress, as only the Senate and House of Representative wings had been completed. A temporary covered wooden walkway
The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., has often been referred to as “The Nation’s Attic” for its vast holdings of historic memorabilia. if that assessment is accurate, then the Photographic Division of the Library of Congress must be considered “The Nation’s Family Album.” With holdings of more than 10 million photographs and negatives, the Library of Congress clearly stands as th
1902: A White House "restoration" was undertaken. Under Theodore Roosevelt, the 19th-century conservatories were razed, and a new "temporary" executive office building, later called the West Wing, was erected. President Theodore Roosevelt worked in his new rectangular office for the first time on November 5. The first cabinet meeting was held in the new wing on November 6.
They have been four years of incessant labour and anxiety and of great responsibility. I am heartily rejoiced that my term is so near its close. I will soon cease to be a servant and will become a sovereign. As a private citizen I will have no one but myself to serve, and will exercise a part of the sovereign
A recent magazine article described the garden of the White House, “known as the President’s Park,” as covering 82 acres and encompassing Lafayette Park and the Ellipse.1 Surrounded by a large fence, the White House indeed appears to be sited in spacious grounds, but the present White House grounds are only about 18 acres, less than a quarter of the original reserv
