It has been through war and fire and renovation to become the symbol of the American presidency.
The home of the United States' president, the White House, was built following an architectural contest won by James Hoban, an Irish architect and builder living in South Carolina.
In 1792 the Commissioners of the Federal City (as Washington D.C. was then called) selected Hoban as winner of the contest. His submission even beat an anonymous plan submitted by someone calling himself "A.Z." -- later discovered to be Thomas Jefferson.
Hoban was awarded a gold medal and the workers started constructing the house he designed, but with the changing tastes of various presidents, including Thomas Jefferson, Hoban's design was repeatedly modified.
The only president never to live in the White House was George Washington. But by the time of the second president, John Adams, the structure was far enough along for him to move in.
In a letter to his wife Abigail, Adams wrote: "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof."
Later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had that quotation carved on the mantle of the State Dining Room.
The most tragic moment for the White House was undoubtedly its burning by the British in 1814, during the War of 1812. Only a timely thunderstorm prevented its complete destruction.
Another major change came in the 1940s. The walls of the building were found to be so weak that the entire White House had to be gutted. Between 1948 and 1952 the interior was completely rebuilt.
