The White House: An Informal History of its Architecture, Interiors and Gardens

By: Ethel Lewis

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Synopsis: The White House, first published in 1937, is a fascinating look at the building—and rebuilding —of the presidential White House as well as vivid descriptions and insights into the lives of the ‘first families’ who lived there (from John Adams up to Franklin Roosevelt), and of the changes each new President brought to the building, its interior and grounds, and to the surrounding city. Following its construction at the turn of the 19th century, the White House was for a long period uncompleted, neglected, and trampled by hordes of careless visitors, as well as home to successive presidents and their families attempting to conduct the nation’s business, host numerous parties and provide lodging for visiting foreign dignitaries. Renovations were on-going, and each First Lady would change rooms to reflect her own or the prevailing interior style popular at the time. Additions to the cramped quarters were planned and usually rejected. Concurrently, Washington D.C. was changing from a disease-ridden swamp with unpaved, muddy streets, into a planned city with wide paved boulevards on the Parisian model. Included are 16 pages of illustrations depicting changes in the exterior and interior of the White House since its construction.