White House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White House |
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Top: The White House's north side with a columned porch facing the North Lawn.
Bottom: The White House's south side with a round porch facing the South Lawn. |
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical, Palladian |
| Address | 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20500 U.S. |
| Coordinates | 38°53′52″N 77°02′11″W / 38.89778°N 77.03639°W |
| Current tenants | Joe Biden, President of the United States and the First Family |
| Construction started | October 13, 1792 |
| Completed | November 1, 1800 |
| Owner | Federal Government of the United States |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 55,000 sq ft (5,100 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | James Hoban |
| Designated NHL | December 19, 1960 |
The White House is the official home and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.. Every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 has lived there. This was when the nation's capital moved from Philadelphia. Sometimes, people use "White House" to mean the president and their team.
The White House was designed by Irish architect James Hoban. He used a style called Neoclassical. Hoban based his design on Leinster House in Dublin, Ireland. That building is now where the Irish government meets. Construction of the White House happened between 1792 and 1800. Its outside walls were made of Aquia Creek sandstone and painted white.
When Thomas Jefferson moved in during 1801, he and architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe added low walkways (colonnades) to each side. These hid the stables and storage areas. In 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces set the mansion on fire. The inside was destroyed, and the outside was badly burned.
Rebuilding started right away. President James Monroe moved into the partly rebuilt home in October 1817. More construction continued. A round South Portico (porch) was added in 1824, and the North Portico was added in 1829.
Because the main house was getting too crowded, President Theodore Roosevelt moved all the offices to the new West Wing in 1901. Eight years later, in 1909, President William Howard Taft made the West Wing bigger and created the first Oval Office. This office was later moved and made even larger. In 1927, the third-floor attic of the main house was turned into living spaces. A new East Wing was built in 1946 for social events and more offices. Jefferson's walkways connected these new wings.
By 1948, the White House was in bad shape. Its walls and wooden beams were close to falling apart. Under President Harry S. Truman, the inside rooms were completely taken apart. A new steel frame was built inside the walls to support the building. The Truman Balcony was added to the outside. After the strong new frame was in place, the inside rooms were rebuilt.
Today, the White House complex includes the main house, the West Wing, the East Wing, and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. This building holds more offices for the president's staff and the vice president. Blair House is also part of the complex; it's a guest house. The main White House building has six floors: the Ground Floor, State Floor, Second Floor, Third Floor, and two basement levels. The White House is a National Heritage Site. It is owned by the National Park Service. In 2007, it was named the second favorite building in America by the American Institute of Architects.
Contents
Early History of the White House
Where Presidents Lived Before
After becoming president in April 1789, George Washington lived in two private homes in New York City. These homes served as the first "executive mansions." He first lived at Samuel Osgood House until February 1790. Then, he moved to the larger Alexander Macomb House until August 1790. In May 1790, work started on a new official home in Manhattan called Government House.
President Washington never lived in Government House. This is because the nation's capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790. It stayed there until 1800. A law passed in July 1790 said the capital would be permanently in the new Federal District. But first, it would be in Philadelphia for ten years while the new capital was built.
In Philadelphia, the government rented a mansion from a merchant named Robert Morris. This was called the President's House. Washington lived there from November 1790 to March 1797. The house was too small for the 30 people who made up the presidential family, staff, and servants. So, Washington had it made bigger.
John Adams became the second president after Washington. He lived in the Philadelphia mansion from March 1797 to May 1800. Philadelphia started building a much grander presidential mansion in 1792. It was almost finished by the time Adams became president in 1797. However, Adams chose not to live there. He said he didn't have permission from Congress to rent the building. It stayed empty until 1800 when it was sold to the University of Pennsylvania.
On November 1, 1800, Adams became the first president to live in the White House. The old President's House in Philadelphia was later torn down in 1832.
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The first presidential mansion, Samuel Osgood House in Manhattan, where Washington lived from April 1789 to February 1790.
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The second presidential mansion, Alexander Macomb House, in Manhattan, where Washington lived from February to August 1790.
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The third presidential mansion, President's House in Philadelphia, where Washington lived from November 1790 to March 1797. Adams lived there from March 1797 to May 1800.
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Government House in Manhattan. It was built in 1790–1791 to be the permanent presidential home. But Congress moved the capital to Philadelphia before it was finished.
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President's House in Philadelphia (built in the 1790s). No president ever used it after the capital moved to Washington, D.C.
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Choosing the Design
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The President's House was a key part of Pierre L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the new federal city of Washington, D.C. President Washington and his Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, both liked architecture. They decided that the designs for the White House and the Capitol building would be chosen through a design contest.
Nine ideas were submitted for the new presidential home. The winner was James Hoban, an Irish-American architect. Hoban oversaw the building of both the U.S. Capitol and the White House. He was born in Ireland and studied at the Dublin Society of Arts. He moved to the U.S. after the American Revolution. He first looked for work in Philadelphia, then found success in South Carolina. There, he designed the state capitol in Columbia.
President Washington visited Charleston, South Carolina, in May 1791. He saw the Charleston County Courthouse being built, which Hoban had designed. It is believed Washington met Hoban during this visit. The next year, Washington called Hoban to Philadelphia. They met in June 1792.
On July 16, 1792, the president met with the city's leaders to pick the winning design. His decision was quick: he chose Hoban's plan.
Design Ideas
The White House's Neoclassical design is based on ideas from Roman architect Vitruvius and Italian architect Andrea Palladio. The design of the upper floors also includes parts from Dublin's Leinster House. This building later became the home of the Irish parliament. The upper windows, with their triangle and curved tops, are like those on the Irish building.
Some Irish country houses from the Georgian era might have also inspired the White House's overall layout. This includes the curved south front and the former alcoves in the Blue Room.
The first official White House guide, from 1962, suggested a link between Hoban's design for the South Portico and Château de Rastignac. This is a neoclassical country house in France. Construction on the French house started before 1789. It was stopped for 20 years by the French Revolution. It was finally built between 1812 and 1817.
Some people question this link because Hoban never visited France. But others say that Thomas Jefferson, during his trip to Bordeaux in 1789, saw the French architect's drawings. They believe Jefferson then shared these ideas with Washington, Hoban, and others.
Building the White House
Construction of the White House began on October 13, 1792. The first stone was laid at noon. The main house and its foundations were built mostly by both enslaved and free African-American workers. Europeans also worked on the building. Many other jobs were done by immigrants who were not yet citizens. This included the sandstone walls, built by Scottish immigrants. They also created the rose and garland decorations above the north entrance.
There are different ideas about where the sandstone for the White House came from. Some say it came from the Croatian island of Brač. Stone from there was used to build the ancient Diocletian's Palace in Split. However, researchers think limestone from that island was used in later renovations in 1902, not the original building. Others believe the original sandstone simply came from Aquia Creek in Stafford County, Virginia. Bringing stone from far away would have been too expensive at that time.
The first construction took about eight years. It cost around $232,371.83. Even though it wasn't fully finished, the White House was ready for people to live in by November 1, 1800.
Because of problems with materials and workers, L'Enfant's plan for a huge palace was five times bigger than the house that was actually built. The finished building had only two main floors instead of the planned three. Less expensive brick was used to line the stone walls. When construction was done, the porous sandstone walls were painted white. This was done with a mix of lime, rice glue, casein, and lead. This gave the house its famous color and name.
How the White House Looks (Architecture)
The main entrance is on the north side. It is under a covered driveway (porte cochere) with tall columns. A raised ramp and a low wall hide the ground floor. The middle three sections are behind a porch that was added around 1830. The windows on the first floor, next to the porch, have alternating pointed and curved tops. The second-floor windows have flat tops. A half-moon window and carved flower decorations are above the entrance. A balustrade (decorative railing) hides the roofline.
The three-level southern side mixes Palladian and neoclassical styles. The ground floor has a rough, stone-like look. The south porch was finished in 1824. In the center of the south side is a curved section with three parts. Five sections flank this curved part. Their windows, like those on the north side, have alternating curved and pointed tops on the first floor. The curved section has a double staircase on the ground floor. This leads to a columned porch and the Truman Balcony, built in 1946. The newer third floor is hidden by a balustrade and doesn't affect the look of the outside.
How the White House Got Its Name
The building was first called the President's Palace, Presidential Mansion, or President's House. The first time people publicly called it the "White House" was in 1811. A story says that after the building was burned in 1814, white paint was used to hide the burn marks. This gave the building its famous white color and name. The name "Executive Mansion" was used officially until President Theodore Roosevelt made "The White House" its formal name in 1901. The way "The White House" is written on official papers today, with "Washington" centered below it, started during Franklin D. Roosevelt's time.
Even though the White House was finished after George Washington's presidency, some think its name might come from Martha Washington's home. Her home was called White House Plantation in Virginia. This is where the first president met the first lady in the mid-1700s.
Changes to the White House Over Time
Early Years, Fire, and Rebuilding
On November 1, 1800, John Adams became the first president to live in the building. The next day, he wrote to his wife Abigail: "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this House, and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof." President Franklin D. Roosevelt later had Adams's prayer carved into the fireplace in the State Dining Room.
Adams lived in the house only for a short time. Thomas Jefferson moved into the "pleasant country residence" in 1801. Jefferson thought the house was too big. But he still thought about how to add to it. With Benjamin Henry Latrobe, he helped design the East and West Colonnades. These small wings helped hide areas like the laundry, stables, and storage. Today, Jefferson's colonnades connect the main house to the East and West Wings.
In 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces burned the White House. This was in response to American troops destroying things in Canada. Much of Washington, D.C., was affected by these fires. Only the outside walls of the White House remained. They had to be mostly torn down and rebuilt because the fire and weather had weakened them. Only parts of the south wall were saved. Many items were taken from the White House when the British attacked. Only three have been found and returned.
White House workers and enslaved people saved a famous painting of George Washington. In 1939, a Canadian man returned a jewelry box to President Franklin Roosevelt. He said his grandfather had taken it from Washington. That same year, a medicine chest belonging to President Madison was returned by a British Navy officer's family. Some people say most of the stolen items were lost when British ships sank during a storm in 1814.
After the fire, President James Madison lived in The Octagon House from 1814 to 1815. Then he lived in the Seven Buildings until his term ended. Meanwhile, Hoban and Latrobe helped design and oversee the rebuilding. This lasted from 1815 to 1817. The south porch was built in 1824 during the James Monroe presidency. The north porch was built in 1830. Both porches were built as Hoban designed them.
Italian artists came to Washington to help build the U.S. Capitol. They carved the decorations on both White House porches. Some believe the south porch's curved stairs were inspired by a similar porch at Château de Rastignac in France. But this is still debated. For the North Portico, a special design was made for the columns. It included a string of roses between the scroll shapes. This connected the new porch to the older carved roses above the entrance.
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The White House after the fire of August 24, 1814.
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The main floor plan for the White House by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, 1807.
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The oldest known photograph of the White House, taken around 1846 during James K. Polk's time as president.
Getting Crowded: Building the West Wing
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By the time of the American Civil War, the White House was very crowded. People also worried about its location. It was north of a canal and swampy areas, which could cause diseases like malaria. Brigadier General Nathaniel Michler suggested solutions. He proposed that the White House stop being the president's home. He designed a new estate for the first family at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, D.C. However, Congress did not approve this plan.
When Chester A. Arthur became president in 1881, he ordered renovations for the White House. He checked the work almost every night and made suggestions. Louis Comfort Tiffany was asked to send designers to help. Over twenty wagonloads of furniture and household items were removed and sold. Only portraits of John Adams and Martin Van Buren were saved. There was also a plan to build a new home south of the White House, but it didn't get enough support.
In 1882, work was done on the main hallway. The walls were painted light olive with gold leaf squares. The ceiling was decorated in gold and silver, with colorful patterns spelling "USA." The Red Room was painted a dull red. Its ceiling had gold, silver, and copper stars and red, white, and blue stripes. A fifty-foot jeweled Tiffany glass screen replaced the glass doors separating the main hallway from the north entrance.
In 1891, First Lady Caroline Harrison suggested big additions to the White House. This included a National Wing on the east for an art gallery and a wing on the west for official events. Colonel Theodore A. Bingham created a plan based on Harrison's idea. But these plans were not approved.
However, in 1902, Theodore Roosevelt hired architects McKim, Mead & White to expand and renovate the White House. They used a neoclassical style that matched the building's design. They removed the Tiffany screen and all Victorian additions. Charles McKim designed and managed the project. It gave more living space to the president's large family. It also moved executive office staff from the second floor of the main house to the new West Wing.
President William Howard Taft asked architect Nathan C. Wyeth to add more space to the West Wing. This included the Oval Office. In 1925, Congress passed a law allowing the White House to accept gifts of furniture and art for the first time. The West Wing was damaged by fire on Christmas Eve 1929. Herbert Hoover and his staff moved back into it on April 14, 1930. In the 1930s, a second story was added, along with a larger basement for staff. President Franklin Roosevelt had the Oval Office moved to its current spot, next to the Rose Garden.
Truman's Big Reconstruction
Years of poor upkeep, adding a fourth-story attic, and a second-floor balcony for Harry S. Truman caused problems. The brick and sandstone building, built around a wooden frame, was very weak. By 1948, the house was in danger of collapsing. This forced President Truman to order a major reconstruction. He had to live across the street at Blair House from 1949 to 1951.
The work was done by contractor John McShain. It involved taking apart the entire inside of the White House. A new steel frame was built inside the outer walls to support the building. Then, the original rooms were rebuilt within this new structure. The total cost of the renovations was about $5.7 million. Some changes were made to the floor plan. The biggest change was moving the grand staircase to open into the Entrance Hall instead of the Cross Hall. Central air conditioning was added. Two more basement levels were also added for workrooms, storage, and a bomb shelter. The Trumans moved back into the White House on March 27, 1952.
While the Truman reconstruction saved the house's structure, many of the new inside finishes were not very special or historic. Much of the original plasterwork was too damaged to put back. The strong wood panels in the East Room were also too damaged. President Truman had the original wooden beams cut into panels. The walls of the Vermeil Room, Library, China Room, and Map Room on the ground floor were paneled with wood from these old timbers.
Jacqueline Kennedy's Restoration
Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of President John F. Kennedy (1961–63), led a very big and important redecoration of the White House. She asked Henry Francis du Pont from the Winterthur Museum to help collect old items for the mansion. Many of these items had been in the White House before. Other antiques, paintings, and improvements were given to the White House by wealthy people.
Stéphane Boudin from the House of Jansen, a famous Paris interior-design company, helped Jacqueline Kennedy with the decorating. Different periods of early American history and world history were chosen as themes for each room. For example, the Green Room was decorated in the Federal style. The Blue Room was done in the French Empire style. The Red Room used the American Empire style. Old furniture was bought, and special fabrics were made and installed based on old documents.
The Kennedy restoration made the White House feel more authentic and grand. It brought back the French style that Madison and Monroe liked. In the Diplomatic Reception Room, Mrs. Kennedy put up an old wallpaper called "Vue de l'Amérique Nord." This wallpaper was designed in 1834. It had been on the walls of another mansion until 1961. Just before that house was torn down, the wallpaper was saved and sold to the White House.
The first White House guidebook was created under Mrs. Kennedy's guidance. Sales of the guidebook helped pay for the restoration. In a televised tour of the house on Valentine's Day in 1962, Kennedy showed her restored White House to the public.
The White House Today
In September 1961, Congress passed a law making the White House a museum. Furniture, decorations, and art could now be officially called historic or artistic. This stopped them from being sold, which had happened a lot in the past. When these items are not used or displayed at the White House, they are given to the Smithsonian Institution for safekeeping or study. The White House can ask for these items back if needed.
Out of respect for the White House's history, no major architectural changes have been made since the Truman renovation. Since the Kennedy restoration, every presidential family has made some changes to the private living areas. But the Committee for the Preservation of the White House must approve any changes to the State Rooms. This committee works to keep the White House historically accurate. They work with each First Family, the White House curator, and the chief usher to make changes.
During the Nixon Administration (1969–1974), First Lady Pat Nixon redecorated the Green Room, Blue Room, and Red Room. She worked with Clement Conger, the curator chosen by President Richard Nixon. Mrs. Nixon's efforts brought over 600 items to the house. This was the most by any administration. Her husband created the modern press briefing room over Franklin Roosevelt's old swimming pool. Nixon also added a single-lane bowling alley to the White House basement.
Computers and the first laser printer were added during the Carter administration. Computer use grew during the Reagan administration. Solar water heating panels on the roof, added during Carter's time, were removed during Reagan's presidency. The private family rooms were redecorated, and public areas were maintained during the Reagan years. The White House was recognized as a museum in 1988.
In the 1990s, Bill and Hillary Clinton redecorated some rooms. They worked with decorator Kaki Hockersmith. These rooms included the Oval Office, the East Room, Blue Room, State Dining Room, Lincoln Bedroom, and Lincoln Sitting Room. During the George W. Bush administration, First Lady Laura Bush redecorated the Lincoln Bedroom to look like it did during Lincoln's time. The Green Room, Cabinet Room, and theater were also redecorated.
The White House became one of the first government buildings in Washington, D.C., that people in wheelchairs could easily access. This happened during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who used a wheelchair. In the 1990s, Hillary Clinton approved adding a ramp in the East Wing hallway. This made it easier for public tours and special events to enter.
In 2003, the Bush administration put solar water heaters back on the roof. These units heat water for grounds staff and for the presidential pool and spa. One hundred sixty-seven solar panels were also installed on the roof of the maintenance building. These changes were not widely announced. In 2013, President Barack Obama had solar panels installed on the roof of the White House. This was the first time solar power was used for the president's living quarters.
White House Layout and Features
The group of buildings where the president works and lives is called the White House Complex. It includes the main Executive Residence in the middle, with the East Wing and West Wing on its sides. The chief usher manages the daily operations of the house. The White House has six floors and 55,000 square feet of space. It has 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, eight staircases, and three elevators. It also has five full-time chefs, a tennis court, a bowling alley, a movie theater, a jogging track, a swimming pool, and a putting green. Up to 30,000 visitors come each week.
The Executive Residence
The original White House building is in the center. Two walkways (colonnades), one on the east and one on the west, were designed by Jefferson. They now connect the East and West Wings, which were added later. The Executive Residence holds the president's living areas, as well as rooms for ceremonies and official parties. The State Floor of the main building includes the East Room, Green Room, Blue Room, Red Room, State Dining Room, Family Dining Room, Cross Hall, Entrance Hall, and Grand Staircase. The Ground Floor has the Diplomatic Reception Room, Map Room, China Room, Vermeil Room, Library, the main kitchen, and other offices.
The second floor is where the family lives. It includes the Yellow Oval Room, East and West Sitting Halls, the White House Master Bedroom, President's Dining Room, the Treaty Room, Lincoln Bedroom and Queens' Bedroom. It also has two more bedrooms, a smaller kitchen, and a private dressing room. The third floor has the White House Solarium, Game Room, Linen Room, a Diet Kitchen, and another sitting room.
The West Wing
The West Wing holds the president's office, called the Oval Office. It also has offices for the president's main staff, with space for about 50 employees. It includes the Cabinet Room, where the president holds meetings with the Cabinet. It also has the White House Situation Room, James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, and the Roosevelt Room. In 2007, renovations were finished in the press briefing room. They added fiber optic cables and LCD screens to show charts and graphs. This makeover took 11 months and cost $8 million.
Some of the president's staff work in the nearby Eisenhower Executive Office Building. This building used to be called the Old Executive Office Building. It historically housed the State Department and other departments.
The Oval Office, Roosevelt Room, and other parts of the West Wing were copied for the TV show The West Wing.
The East Wing
The East Wing was added to the White House in 1942. It has more office space. The East Wing has sometimes held the offices and staff of the first lady and the White House Social Office. Rosalynn Carter, in 1977, was the first to put her personal office in the East Wing. She formally called it the "Office of the First Lady." The East Wing was built during World War II. It was built to hide the construction of an underground bunker for emergencies. This bunker is now known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center.
White House Grounds
The White House and its grounds cover just over 18 acres (about 7.3 hectares). Before the North Portico was built, most public events used the South Lawn as an entrance. Thomas Jefferson ordered the grading and planting of this lawn. Jefferson also planned to plant large trees on the North Lawn. These trees would have mostly hidden the house from Pennsylvania Avenue. In the mid-to-late 1800s, many large greenhouses were built on the west side of the house. This is where the current West Wing is. During this time, the North Lawn had fancy flowerbeds.
The general layout of the White House grounds today is based on a 1935 design. It was created by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. During the Kennedy administration, the White House Rose Garden was redesigned by Rachel Lambert Mellon. The Rose Garden is next to the West Colonnade. The Jacqueline Kennedy Garden is next to the East Colonnade. Jacqueline Kennedy started this garden, but it was finished after her husband's death.
On June 23, 2006, a very old American Elm tree on the north side of the building fell during a storm. Some of the oldest trees on the grounds are several magnolias. Andrew Jackson planted these, including the Jackson Magnolia. It is said to have grown from a sprout of his recently deceased wife's favorite tree. This tree stood for over 200 years. In 2017, it became too weak to stand alone. It was decided to remove it and replace it with one of its offspring.
Michelle Obama planted the White House's first organic garden. She also installed beehives on the South Lawn. These provide organic produce and honey for the First Family and for official dinners. In 2020, First Lady Melania Trump redesigned the Rose Garden.
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The Cross Hall, connecting the State Dining Room and the East Room on the State Floor.
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Marine One gets ready to land on the South Lawn. This is where official arrival ceremonies are held.
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A view from the south, with the south fountain.
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A view from the north, with the north fountain.
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The White House at night, seen from the north.
Public Access and Security
Visiting the White House
Like old English and Irish country houses, the White House was open to the public from the beginning until the early 1900s. President Thomas Jefferson held an open house for his second inauguration in 1805. Many people from his swearing-in ceremony followed him home. He greeted them in the Blue Room. These open houses sometimes got very wild. In 1829, President Andrew Jackson had to leave for a hotel when about 20,000 people celebrated his inauguration inside the White House. His helpers had to get the crowd outside with tubs of orange juice and whiskey.
This tradition continued until 1885. Then, newly elected Grover Cleveland had a military parade in front of the White House instead of the usual open house. Inspired by Washington's open houses, John Adams started the tradition of the White House New Year's Reception. Jefferson allowed public tours of his house, which have continued ever since, except during wartime. He also started the tradition of an annual reception on the Fourth of July. Those receptions ended in the early 1930s. President Bill Clinton briefly brought back the New Year's Day open house during his first term.
Air Incidents
In February 1974, a stolen U.S. Army helicopter landed without permission on the White House grounds. Twenty years later, in 1994, a stolen small plane crashed on White House grounds, killing the pilot instantly.
During the September 11 attacks, White House staff were told to leave by the U.S. Secret Service. This happened after air traffic control said, "There is an aircraft coming at you," though no plane appeared.
On May 12, 2005, the White House was evacuated because an unauthorized aircraft came too close. Two F-16 fighter jets and a helicopter forced it to land. The pilot was a student who accidentally flew into the restricted area.
On January 27, 2015, a man flew a drone from his apartment near the White House. He lost control, and it crashed on the southeast side of the grounds. The Secret Service temporarily locked down the White House. Investigators thought the drone flew into the property by accident because of wind or trees.
In June 2023, fighter jets stopped a small plane that flew into Washington D.C. airspace near the White House. The plane later crashed in Virginia, and everyone on board died.
Closing Pennsylvania Avenue
On May 20, 1995, the United States Secret Service closed Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to cars. This was mainly a response to the Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995. Later, the closure was extended.
After September 11, 2001, this change became permanent. E Street, between the White House and the Ellipse, was also closed. In response to the Boston Marathon bombing, the road was completely closed to the public for two days.
Some groups in Washington, D.C., have opposed closing Pennsylvania Avenue. They say it makes traffic worse and doesn't fit the city's historic plan. They also point out that the White House is much farther back from the street than many other important federal buildings.
Before it was fenced off, the sidewalk here was where people waited for daily public tours of the White House. These tours were stopped after the September 11 attacks. In September 2003, they started again on a limited basis. Groups had to arrange tours through their Congressional representatives or embassies and pass background checks. But the White House remained closed to the general public. Due to budget cuts, White House tours were stopped for most of 2013. The White House reopened for public tours in November 2013.
Protection and Security
The White House Complex is protected by the United States Secret Service and the United States Park Police.
During the 2005 presidential inauguration, special missile units (NASAMS) were used to patrol the sky over Washington, D.C. These same units have since been used to protect the president and the airspace around the White House. Flying aircraft near the White House is strictly forbidden.
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