Through the black iron fence the famous white façade sits behind its lawn. Crowds gather along Pennsylvania Avenue for the classic photo.

History

The White House, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, has been the home of every president since John Adams in 1800. The Irish-born architect James Hoban designed it in the neoclassical style, modelled on Leinster House in Dublin. Built between 1792 and 1800, its walls are Aquia Creek sandstone painted white. British forces burned it in 1814; James Monroe moved back in in October 1817. The South Portico was added in 1824 and the North Portico in 1829. Theodore Roosevelt moved the offices into the new West Wing in 1902, and William Howard Taft created the first Oval Office in 1909. Under Harry S. Truman the inside was rebuilt around a new steel frame, and the Truman Balcony was added.

Visiting

Free public tours must be requested through your Member of Congress at least 21 days and no more than 90 days ahead; foreign visitors apply through their embassy. Tours usually run on Tuesday to Saturday mornings, 8:00 am to 12:30 pm, except federal holidays. Otherwise, the best views are from Pennsylvania Avenue on the north side and the Ellipse on the south.

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  North façade From Pennsylvania Avenue.
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  South Portico From the Ellipse.
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  President's Park Run by the National Park Service.