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Window openings provide bursts of light into the cavernous interior of the White House, supported by temporary steel bracing. Concrete underpinnings for the walls allow earth-moving equipment to dig a new basement on May 17, 1950.
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
View to the southeast corner of the White House. The arched entry of the staircase and wooden joists of the second floor corridor are seen on the right of this photograph taken on April 20, 1950.
National Park Service
The North Portico excavation on July 11, 1950, showing the areaway that had ventilated and lighted the ground floor rooms since the house was built. The ruins in the foreground are underground storage rooms dug out in the 1930s. Truman replaced these with a larger underground service area that today houses both gardening staff and a bowling alley, all under the north lawn.
Harry S. Truman Library Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
View to the west along the south wall reveals the depth of the new foundation and excavation, extending 25 feet below the original footings. This image from June 12, 1950, shows earth along the walls was left unexcavated until cross beams, running north and south, were installed to prevent the walls from bulging.
National Park Service
The Ground Floor in the process of demolition on April 25, 1950. An arch (lower left) remains from the long transverse corridor and a ghost of the stairs to the State Floor appears on the distant wall.
Harry S. Truman Library Presidential Library and Museum/NARAAbout this Gallery
To provide solid support for the interior walls, crews poured 126 new reinforced concrete support columns to a depth of 25 feet. This would eventually provide space for two newly excavated sub-basement levels. By autumn 1950, interior demolition had left the White House a cavernous hollow space 165 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 70 to 80 feet high.
Abbie Rowe visited the construction site frequently. His photographs not only tracked the progress of the work, but also tried to capture the architectural forms and a web of steel wall supports in attractive ways. Using backlighting to illuminate the dark cavernous spaces of the gutted structure, he gave a sense of depth and beauty to the crumbling piles of stone, mortar, timber, and brick.
In the 1960s, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy oversaw the task of restoring the White House interiors and thus founded the White House Historical Association to enhance the understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of the Executive Mansion. As a part of our mission, the Association provides financial support for acquisitions, refurbishing projects, and preservation initiatives of the White House, which involves collaboration
Featuring John F.W. Rogers, Chairman of the White House Historical Association’s Board of Directors
Since 1965, the White House Historical Association has been proud to fund the official portraits of our presidents and first ladies, a long-standing tradition of the White House Collection. Recent presidents and first ladies typically select their respective artists before leaving the White House and approve the portraits before their formal presentation to the public and induction into the collection. The
Featuring Laurie Grace, Chairman of the James Hoban Society of Ireland; Brother Christy O’Carroll, Congregation of Christian Brothers; Ciarán O’Connor, State Architect of Ireland; Merlo Kelly, Senior Architect, Lotts Architecture & Urbanism; Brian O’Connell, Director and Founder of O’Connell Mahon Architects and a contributor to the book James Hoban: Designer and Builder of the White House
The collection of fine art at the White House has evolved and grown over time. The collection began with mostly presidential portraits, commissioned or purchased by Congress, or donated by presidential descendants. In the era before photography, some presidents invited painters to set up studios in the White House to record significant events and paint their likeness. In the late
Many people approach the decor of their homes as a reflection of oneself. But what happens when a home's interior must be a reflection of a country's history? While the president and first lady make decisions regarding the White House interiors while they live there, they also recognize the importance of maintaining and preserving the public spaces and their accompanying
Featuring Dr. Christopher Moran, Chairman, Co-Operation Ireland; Merlo Kelly, Design Fellow, University College Dublin, School of Architecture Planning and Environmental Policy; and Andrew McCarthy, Independent Historian and Scholar
During the administration of President Harry S. Truman, the White House underwent a renovation and expansion so extensive, it changed the Executive Mansion more than the fire of 1814. The White House we know today is largely due to the renovation led by Truman. The construction took place between 1948 and 1952 and was a remarkable feat of engineering. National Park Service photographer
Since the White House was first occupied by President John Adams in 1800, influential people and organizations—or those who hoped to have influence—have bought property and built homes and offices along the streets surrounding the White House. For more than two centuries, this neighborhood has been the setting for political decision-making and diplomacy, social gatherings and protests, wartime expediencies and
Two grand houses were under construction in the young Federal City in 1816: one the President’s House, reconstructed after it was burned by the British in 1814, and the other Tudor Place, an elegant mansion rising on the heights above Georgetown. The connection between these two houses is more than temporal, as they were connected through lineage and politics for generations. Th
From the beginning of its construction in 1792, until the 1902 renovation that shaped the modern identity and functions of the interior of the White House, the fourteen paintings of this series examine the history of a national icon. Through meticulous research and tireless attention to detail, numerous sources inspired the brush of Peter Waddell to create a vision of the White
President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s advocacy for the arts endures as a vital part of their White House legacy. From 1961 to 1963, the White House became a focal point for the arts and cultural engagement. The Kennedys hosted numerous concerts and performances and infused the Executive Mansion and the country with the same vitality, youth, and id
