We all know that 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C is the address of the White House. But that building was originally named the “President’s House.”
It was designed by Irish architect James Hoban under the direction of George Washington. The cornerstone was laid in the fall of 1792. George Washington never lived there — he left office before construction was completed. The house’s first occupants were President John Adams and his wife, Abigail. They moved there in 1800.
By the time John and Abigail moved in the gray-quarried-sandstone exterior had started to look weathered and was given a coat of whitewash to protect it from harsh winter conditions. When the third U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson, moved in, the house was given a fresh coat of white paint. From that point on, it was given a fresh coat of white paint whenever it was needed.
At the Battle of York during the War of 1812, Canadian Parliament buildings were destroyed as a result of arson. In a retaliatory act, British troops set fire to many buildings in Washington, including the residence of then President James Madison and his wife, Dolley. This left the outside of the house charred and blackened. Madison ordered the house to be repainted in the familiar white color.
There is a notion that this led to the President’s house being called the White House, but before the attack, a British ambassador referred to the president’s residence as “the White House at Washington.” Then in March of 1812, a congressman by the name of Bigelow reported that “there is much trouble at the White House, as we call it — I mean the President’s House.”
So the president’s residence was referred to as the White House long before the building was officially named the White House.
It’s nickname didn’t become official until September of 1901 when President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order that designated the building “The White House.”
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