Randy Holcomb, age 9, of Huntington Beach, California, for his question:
Who designed the White House?
Every year, at least a million American tourists pay a visit to the official home of their President. Some call it the Executive Mansion, some call it the White House. But nobody who sees it is disappointed. It is natural to wonder who designed this big, handsome house all dressed in white.
The story of the White House goes way back to the year 1792, which was 176 years ago. Our country had freed herself from the rule of England and become the young United States of America. In creating a new country, there are a lot of chores and a great deal of working and planning to be done. But the first U.S. citizens did all these things with joy. One of the big jobs was setting up the national govern¬ment in Washington. The Capitol Building had to be planned and built for the members of the Congress to hold their meetings. And an official residence had to be planned for the country's President and his family.
Our first President, as everybody knows, was George Washington. He had a great respect for family life and believed strongly in the dignity of the family home. Washington insisted on these sound ideas when time came to plan the family home that future presidents would occupy while in office. He wanted it to be a magnificent mansion with the dignity of a country estate and the pleasant conveniences of a real home. Those were splendid ideas. But designing a house that had all these noble qualities seemed like an enormous problem.
Naturally, every architect worth his salt wanted a chance to design the Executive Mansion. So it was decided to hold a contest. One of the hopeful architects who entered this contest was named James Hoban. He had come to the New World from Ireland when America was still an English colony. Hoban was among the first generation to become U.S. citizens, along with George Washington and the Founding Fathers. Like everyone else, he was bent on making America his homeland. But his mind harked back to some of the beautiful old buildings he had left behind in the old country. One of his favorites was the palace of the Duke of Leinster in Dublin, and perhaps this stately palace was in the back of his mind as he worked.
Hoban sketched and re-sketched until at last he had a design that suited him. He submitted his plans to be judged with those of other architects. And Hoban's design was selected as the right one. President John Adams and his family occupied the Executive Mansion in 1800, before all its rooms were finished.
The handsome house was built of pale sandstone that shone out white and bright among the red brick houses of Washington, and some people just naturally began to call it "the White House." Then in 1814, the city was burned by the English and the stately home was badly burned and charred with smoke. James Hoban set about re¬pairing the damage and the smoky smudges were painted over with white. People had even more reason for using their affectionate name for the Executive Mansion. And almost a century later President Theodore Roosevelt made the "White House" its official name.