# Talk:Blair House

Why is this article called "President's Guest House"? Per WP:COMMONNAME shouldn't it be "Blair House"? GA-RT-22 (talk) 14:25, 14 January 2021 (UTC)

In my opinion? - because its official name/GSA/Federal Government name is President's Guest House. Blair House as a separate entity does not physically, actually exist. I think the policy that is pertinent here is WP:CRITERIA, especially the parameter about Precision. You could always open an RfC to see if there's a consensus to change the article's name to "Blair House". Shearonink (talk) 15:43, 14 January 2021 (UTC)
I agree it should be at Blair House per common name. I just googled Blair House, and when google showed me President's Guest House I at first skipped over it, thinking it couldn't be the article I was looking for. Official name shouldn't trump common name. —valereee (talk) 18:00, 20 January 2021 (UTC)
There is no doubt this article should be named Blair House, which is by far the common name for the presidential guesthouse. Cristiano Tomás (talk) 21:14, 20 January 2021 (UTC)
Blair House seems the common name of the multi-building (but one interior) complex, and the opening image uses the term. The most notable events in its history, the Harry Truman residence and assassination attempt, seem to be refer to Blair House as the common name. And per Blair House Agreement. Randy Kryn (talk) 21:24, 20 January 2021 (UTC)

In the infobox we say the floor area is 202,440 sq ft, but in the Interior spaces section we say it's 70,000 sq ft. If these are for two different parts, say the original Blair House vs the entire complex, we should clarify this. GA-RT-22 (talk) 20:04, 25 January 2021 (UTC)

The larger area is sourced to Mary French's United States protocol : the guide to official diplomatic etiquette, but that citation was arrived at haphazardly: see here, for square footage without reference (couldn't find when that area was first inserted); here, for when book was used to reference number of rooms; and here, for final appearance (there are other relevant edits, but I didn't get results from some other searches).
The GSA reference is the only online one, and it is somewhat confusing;
The President's Guest House consists of four, visually distinct buildings that have been unified on the interior to serve the needs of visiting dignitaries. The property contains 119 rooms, including 14 guest bedrooms and 35 bathrooms, among other functional spaces. At 70,000 square feet, Blair House is larger than the White House.
Does that paragraph refer to two separate entities or the same space by different names. 70,000 square feet is an enormous space and could well be that of the entire complex. At this point, I would assume that the smaller number belongs in the infobox. Dhtwiki (talk) 23:08, 25 January 2021 (UTC)
70,000 sq ft is the floor space of the entire President's Guest House complex per state.gov "The Blair House of today consists of four interconnected townhouses, forming a 120-room complex totaling 70,000 square feet." The White House is approximately 55,000 sq ft, according to the White House History website.
I do not have access to the Mary French book with the "202,440 square feet" figure in it. Can someone who has access to that book post an exact quote here? That figure seems to me to be in error... Shearonink (talk) 23:54, 25 January 2021 (UTC)
The Blair House website says the square footage is 60,600 square feet. Shearonink (talk) 23:57, 25 January 2021 (UTC)
Since it seems certain that a smaller square footage is in order for the infobox, I've changed it to match what's in the article, citing the GSA source. That doesn't have to be the final edit, especially given the discrepancy here; but it's obvious now that 202,440 sq. ft. is far too large, especially when comparing with residential spaces we're all familiar with. Dhtwiki (talk) 02:51, 26 January 2021 (UTC) (edited 21:40, 27 January 2021 (UTC))