The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-03-06
A Description OF the House In Which
the Nations Executive
Lives.
Not by Any Means the Finest
Palace In the United
States.
but To All That Most Any of Us Would
Like to Live There for Four
Years.

oulClnlly known as tho executive manblOu.
But that Is a long name and hard to pro-
nounce. and for this reason. and because
of its white walls, 1t Ia generally called the
White house. 1t was originally yellowish-
white on the outside. being built OF sand
stone. but when the British had possession
OF Washington. In 1914, md burned this
and nearly all the other public buildings, il
was 60 blackened with fire M smoke that
when il was repaired its walls were painted
white, and 80 it became the White house.
It has since been painted so many times
that in some places the white paint upon
Its walls is nearly n quarter Of an inch
thick.
The White house is by no means the
finest residence in the United States. but
still it is the house that most Americans
would rather live in than any othor.
Whatever the house may lack in size and
elegance is moro than compensated for by
its historical associations. Every one of
our presidents has lived in 1t except George
Washington. Tho White house was not
built when Washington was y. esident. but
he assisted in laying it's oorner- stone in 1892.
and it was nearly finished whom he died. in
1899. In its lofty rooms have been enacted
some of the greatest scenes in American
history.
When tho White house was built, Wash.
inRton was hardly large enough to be called
a village. But the spot where the beautiful
city now stands had already been selected
for the capital of the new nation, and every
year the city has grown and improved, until
it is now one of the abandonment capitals in
the world. A residence for the president
was one of the first things necessary, and it
was decided to build it after the plan of the
home of the duke of Leinster, in Dublin.
Seven years and $500, 600 wore spent in
building it, and in 1900 President John
Adams moved into it. On New Years day
1901, he gave his first reception in ii, and
this was its formal opening to tho rublic.
When thu British soldiers entered it in 1914
thew found a lunch standing ready on the
table, which the occupants had left in their
haste to escape. The soldiers took care to
eat the lunch before they set fire to the
building. SO that much was saved from
utter waste.
The repairs after the fire of 1914 cost
more than $500, GOA. and the stables and
conservatory that were added cost nearly
$75.0 GOO. The building and its contents re-
President Arthur had the whole place reno
waited and repaired, and this took so much
money that the total cost OF the building
RS it is ut present has been about $1.7OO,-
600. The White house furnishes q curious
illustration of how the ideas of Il people
expand ns a nation grows richer. People
say now TINT this house is not nearly large
enough or fine enough for tho president OF
this great nation, but when it was built it
WIS thought to be e1travngantly large n
costly, and only fifty years ago one of the
Washington newspapers said: lie the
vnp1danra Hf thn pralj1arf ia rnroENr,o]
to a moro modest mansion, and tho only
wonder would soon be how we could SO
long have tolerated the palace of the presi-
dent" And this was before ST. COZ. 900 had
been spent in improving it.
The White house stands in what are
called 'the executive grounds" "a park of
about eighty aores lying between Fifteenth
and Seventeenth streets west. and b street
and Pennsylvania avenue. The fl ont looks
toward Pennsylvania avenue, Oh the Other
side of which is the United States treasury
building. Between the house and the avs
nue. id q fine broad lawn, dotted with grand
old forest trees, and all around the front is
q high iron fence, with seye! al vide gGtes.
But these gates nearly always stand open.
for privacy is one of the things that tue
president Is deprived Of. Ihe building is
only two stories high, but it stands upon
sloping ground, 80 that the basement under
it is on Il level with the avn in the rear.
1t is severely PLAN, tho only ornament in
front being u great portico. which. sup
ported OF eight heavy stone columns, COW
ers several windows OF both stories. In
the rear there is n semi circular balcony,
also with large columns, directly opposite
the portico.
"How big is it?" ia the most natural
question. 1t is IT'S feet across tho front
and eiRhty-six feet deep. You will get q
better idea of this by comparing 1t with
the size of the house that you liva in your
Half Gina huOiraI md pavaukv. Evn f,n< IN
ns wide ms seven ordinary city houses, but
everything about tho place Is in keeping,
and it does not look large. Going under
the great porto coohere, or high front
porch, the visitor reaches the front door,
where between 10 in the morning and two
in the afternoon he need not even stop to
ring the bell. Between those hours certain
parts Of the house are always open to tho
public, and an attendant secs the visitor
coming and opens the door for him. The
most insignificant person in the county
can walk IN there and send his card to tho
president of the Unitsd States. just az if he
were calling upon you or me. Most Of the
people who 60 in merely wish to SEQ the
building. but occasionally-at long. long,
intervnls-some importunate man goes in
to ask the president to appoint him to an
office. We must not pass the front door
without looking at the big bronze knobs
md boil handle, for there arc none like
them in this country. They were made es.
peoially for the White house, and each is ss
large as a baseball. with a screaming
American eagle cut in the face Of it.
Immediately inside the front doors ia The
vestibulc. with its mosaic fioor-n room 40
large that. as they say in Washington. you
could turn u load of hay in it," This ia
separated at the back from the grand cor.
ridor by a wall or screen made OF the finest
glass mosaic. full of colored glass and cut
crystal that at night shines like the walls
Of mn enchanted palace. The ordinary Wis
itor sees the yestibule. hut no does not zee
the grand corridor, which belongs to tho
private part of the house. and is open to
the public only when there ia a reception.
The celebrated east room (every boy and
girl must have heard of the great east room
in the White house, ia the largest parlor in
the country. and one of the mos. elegant.
1t is reached by turning to tho left from
the vestibule, and crossing n small hallway.
This loom is eighty feet long and forty feet
wide, nnd it takes more than 400 yards Of
carpet to cover its floor. This depends
very much. as you will probably say. upon
the width of the carpet. The ceiling. like
al! the White house ceilings on the INST
floor. Ia about twenty feet high. Its walls
are covered with silver and gilt. n la
each OF them are set eight great mirrors,
each as big as the tops OF two billiard
tables. The feet sink in the soft carpet.
Historic paintings hang upon the walls.
Each of the chandeliers IL made of 6,O0o
pieces Of bohemian cut glass. and each cost
s., 600. The furniture Is covered with satin.
This IL a room to SEQ and remember.
From the hallway between the vestibule
and the east room there rises n stairway.