Internationally recognised as the home of the United States President, the White House has stood at the heart of Washington D.C. on Pennsylvania Avenue since the tenure of the country’s second president, John Adams. It captures the popular imagination from the dramatic West Wing television series to the explosive science fiction of Independence Day and the White House is surely one of the most iconic seats of government in the world.
Visitors to the White House must submit a request through their Member of Congress or their embassy in Washington D.C. if they are not United States citizens. These free hour-long tours cover ten public rooms and corridors on the ground and first floors. Visitors enter the East Wing to proceed through the East Garden Room, Library, Vermeil Room, China Room and then upstairs to the East Room, Green Room, Blue Room, Red Room, State Dining Room and Old Family Dining Room before exiting by way of the Cross Hall and Entrance Hall. Select invitees can also tour the West Wing with members of the White House staff and Secret Service.
The White House lies within walking distance of the National Mall, the Washington Monument and the United States Congress. Nearby Metro stations include McPherson Square and Farragut West on the blue, orange and silver lines and Metro Center, served by all of the above plus the red line.
The original building was completed in 1800, but the White House has morphed and changed gradually over the centuries. The entire building underwent heavy reconstruction in the aftermath of the War of 1812 and the British burning of Washington. The West Wing, now well known as the White House’s designated office space, was the work of Theodore Roosevelt in 1901, while the legendary Oval Office was the creation of his successor William Howard Taft.