White House renovations have always been controversial

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

Jacqueline Kennedy transformed the White House into a museum of American history

Between 1961 and 1963, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy oversaw a dramatic restoration of the White House, furnishing rooms with authentic antiques, founding the White House Historical Association, and securing congressional protection for the White House's historic interiors.

Most White House renovations have cost no more than $10M

The storied residence of the US president has undergone many overhauls in its day, from rooftop fixes to bowling alley and pool installations. The majority of the renovation projects came in under $10M. President Trump's 2025 expansion of the West Wing, primarily funded by private donations, will cost more than $200M.

The White House was almost entirely rebuilt from 1948 to 1952

Structural failure forced President Harry Truman to vacate the White House in 1948. Engineers gutted the building, keeping only its exterior walls, and rebuilt the interior with a new steel frame, modern utilities, and reinforced foundations by 1952.

Edith Roosevelt's White House redesign created the modern West Wing

In 1902, first lady Edith Roosevelt oversaw a significant renovation that separated the family residence from official offices. Architect Charles McKim added the West Wing to house the president's staff—establishing the modern layout still used today.

Go room by room in this deep look at the interior of the White House

Explore the White House's 132 rooms—from the Oval Office and East Room to the State Dining Room and Lincoln Bedroom—with this 3D video rendering that reveals the layout, design, and daily functions of the building before its 2025 renovations.

The White House still has its original stone walls

Construction of the White House began in 1792 and continued even after 1800, when John Adams moved in. Despite being burned by British troops in 1814 and repeatedly renovated since, the White House's original Virginia sandstone walls remain intact.

The White House was officially called the Executive Mansion until 1901

Throughout the 19th century, the building we now call the White House was formally known as the "Executive Mansion"—and earlier as the "President's House" or "President's Palace". In October 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt formalized the name "The White House" for all government use.

See the White House bowling alley in use

First installed in 1947 for President Harry Truman, the White House bowling alley was later moved to the basement of the Executive Office Building. President Nixon, an avid bowler, added a new one-lane alley beneath the White House in 1973.

Thomas Jefferson is rumored to have anonymously submitted a design for the White House

Of the design submissions for the White House, one is rumored to have been submitted by Thomas Jefferson, an amateur architect. Though his design did not win, he later influenced the grounds as president, adding formal gardens, wooded areas, and a carriage drive.

The White House Situation Room was created in 1961

In 1961, John F. Kennedy approved the establishment of the White House Situation Room—a secure crisis-management center in the West Wing basement—following the intelligence failures of the Bay of Pigs invasion and the growing tensions of the Cold War.

The history of the White House Hanukkah party

Despite celebrating Christmas for hundreds of years, the US Presidential White House didn't have its first Hanukkah celebration until 1979, when Jimmy Carter oversaw the lighting of a menorah. Since then, the tradition has expanded, including lessons on playing with dreidels and big parties. See a timeline of the events here.

Watergate-era reforms restricted the power of the presidency

Watergate ushered in sweeping changes. Agencies were required to release information openly, officials had to disclose finances transparently, and new laws limited conflicts of interest. The reforms also established independent oversight of ethics and safeguarded presidential records, curbing abuse and boosting accountability.

Often-maligned Brutalist architecture inspired a design renaissance

Despite petitions worldwide to demolish some of its more notorious examples, Brutalism was a transformative moment in architecture. The reinforced concrete style arguably reduced costs, enabled new designs, and reduced the need for maintenance.

Sheep once grazed on the National Mall and White House grounds

In the late 1910s, sheep grazed near the Lincoln Memorial and on the White House lawn. Under Woodrow Wilson, their wool was auctioned for charity, briefly making the grazing animals the subject of a federal cost-saving experiment.

The 'chief usher' manages the White House and a staff of roughly 100 people

Tracing back to 19th-century household roles, the chief usher is now the White House's general manager—overseeing renovations, maintenance, food service, budgets, and employees who run the daily operations of the complex.

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically hard to sell because they're old, subject to local landmark commissions, and often unfashionable

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically difficult to sell

Though beautiful and world-renowned, homes by America's greatest architect spend years on the market without a buyer. Prospective homeowners are often driven away by the decades-old properties that require heavy maintenance, upkeep, specialized artisans, and rare materials.

See some of the most controversial pardons in presidential history

From Lincoln's selective commutations of Dakota men after an 1862 uprising, to Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon after Watergate, and Bill Clinton's final-day clemency decisions, pardons have long sparked fierce debate over justice, political favoritism, and presidential power.

Former White House speechwriters reflect on crafting the State of the Union

In this 2008 discussion, speechwriters from the Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton administrations discuss how the State of the Union is written, negotiated, and used to project presidential leadership.

The controversy behind the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

It's now a standard stop for tourists visiting Washington, DC, but before it was built the Vietnam Veterans Memorial triggered an internecine battle between the war's veterans, some of whom believed the planned memorial was offensive. This short documentary recounts the controversy and the ultimate triumph of the memorial, which helped change the country's impression of the war and its soldiers.

Theodore Roosevelt tried for a third presidential term in 1912

In 1912, after serving nearly two full terms—one elected, the other partial after stepping in as vice president—Theodore Roosevelt sought a third. He lost the Republican nomination to William Taft, then ran as a Progressive Party candidate but was ultimately defeated by Woodrow Wilson.

Norman Rockwell had a 21st-century resurgence

For decades, he was written off by the art world as a simplistic commercial artist, but critics began to reconsider Rockwell's work many years after his death. Arguably, the height of that resurgence came in 2011, when President Barack Obama hung "The Problem We All Live With" (on loan from the Norman Rockwell Museum) in the White House to mark the 50th anniversary of Ruby Bridges' desegregation walk.

The favorite restaurants of former US presidents

Curious about the eating habits of past commanders-in-chief? From George Washington to Barack Obama, discover the food preferences of former US presidents. Find out who liked to go out vs. stay in, where they frequented, what they ordered, and how they spent their time in each establishment.

How house colors can indicate gentrification

Reporters from the Washington Post share an analysis that indicates gray and neutrally toned houses are signs of gentrification in a neighborhood. Visuals of different paint swatches help illustrate which colors are chosen for newly built homes in certain DC districts.

How two US Presidents defined WWII and its aftermath

The National WWII Museum’s “To the Best of My Ability” podcast series delves into how Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman steered the US through World War Two.

Some scholars consider the Bretton Woods system one of the best foreign policy decisions in US history

A survey of historians by the Council on Foreign Relations ranked the creation of the Bretton Woods system among the top 10 foreign policy decisions in US history, highlighting its role in establishing postwar stability, prosperity, and decades of economic growth.

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

Sears sold DIY house kits starting at $600 in its famous catalog from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in roughly 10,000 'Sears and Roebuck houses' being built.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

In 1945, Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and legendary animator Walt Disney began collaborating on a short film that was not completed until 2003, years after both men had died.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.