Story Highlights
- historical event: The chief architect was the Irishman James Hoban. At first, the building was not referred to as the White House, but President’s Palace or President’s House.
The White House in Washington, D.C. was built in eight years. The construction cost a total of 232,371 U.S. dollars. Numerous slaves and Europeans who did not yet have U.S. citizenship were employed on the construction project. The chief architect was the Irishman James Hoban. At first, the building was not referred to as the White House, but as the President’s Palace or President’s House.
Legend has it that the building became white after the fire in 1814, when became necessary to cover the traces of smoke with white paint. This, however, is not true because the name “White House” was used as early as 1811, i.e. three years before the fire broke out. The first resident of the White House was President John Adams, who moved in on this day in 1800.
