A Look Inside the White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC
Created for Johnson School First and Second Grade Students
THE WHITE HOUSE
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is one of the most famous addresses
in the world. It has been home and official workspace to every
American president since the year 1800. For over two hundred
years, the White House has stood as a symbol of the
Presidency, the United States government, and the American
people.
The White House Complex
The White House Complex includes the Executive Residence, the West
Wing, the East Wing, and the gardens. Nearby is the Old Executive
building. The White House has 132 rooms, including 16 family-guest rooms,
1 main kitchen, 1 diet kitchen, 1 family kitchen, and 35 bathrooms.
Sections of the White House
Executive
Residence
Ground Floor
•
includes cloakrooms, a
china room, the
kitchen, and a library
State Floor
•
includes Oval Blue
Room, East Room, Red
Room, Green Room,
State Dining Room.
Second Floor
•
includes the private
rooms of the
President
Third Floor
•
consists mainly of
guest rooms and
staff quarters
West Wing
•
•
•
•
•
•
Oval Office and
offices of senior
staff with room for
about 50 employees
Cabinet Room
White House
Situation Room
James S. Brady Press
Briefing Room
Roosevelt Room
Old Executive Office
Building
East Wing
•
•
•
Offices and staff of
the First Lady
White House Social
Office
Presidential
Emergency
Operations Center
THE GROUND FLOOR
This floor houses several official rooms including the
Diplomatic Reception Room, Library, China Room, Map Room, and
Vermeil Room.
Diplomatic Reception Room
The Diplomatic Reception Room is one of three oval rooms. It
is used as an entrance from the South Lawn, and a reception
room for foreign ambassadors
The Library
The White House Library is used for teas and meetings by the
President and First Lady. John Adams, the first President to live in the
White House, used this room as a laundry room. It continued to be
used as a laundry until 1902 when President Theodore Roosevelt had the
White House renovated.
The China Room
The China Room is the room that displays the White House's
collection of state china. The room is primarily used by the
First Lady for teas, meetings, and smaller receptions.
The Map Room
The Map Room was created during the Nixon administration and
takes its name from its use during World War II, when it was
used as a high security situation room where maps were
consulted of the war's progress.
The Vermeil Room
The Vermeil Room houses a collection of gilt silver tableware
called vermeil, a 1956 bequest to the White House by Margaret
Thompson Biddle. Portraits of American First Ladies hang in
the room
THE STATE FLOOR
The State Floor is used for official entertaining and ceremonial
functions. The following rooms are found on the State Floor:
Entrance Hall, Cross Hall, East Room, Green Room, Blue Room,
Red Room, State Dining Room, Family Dining Room, and the
Chief Usher's office.
Entrance Hall and Cross Hall
The Entrance Hall (also called the Grand
Foyer) is the primary and formal entrance.
The room is rectilinear in shape.
The Cross Hall is a broad hallway. The room is
used for receiving lines following a State
Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn, or a
procession of the President and a visiting
head of state and their spouses.
The East Room
The East Room is used for entertaining, press conferences,
ceremonies, and occasionally for a large dinner. The White
House's oldest possession, the 1797 Gilbert Stuart portrait of
George Washington hangs in the East Room.
The Green Room
The Green Room is used for small receptions and teas. During a
state dinner guests are served cocktails in the three state
parlors before the president, first lady, and visiting head of
state descend the Grand Staircase for dinner. The room is
traditionally decorated in shades of green.
The Blue Room
The Blue Room is distinct for its oval shape. The room is used
for receptions, receiving lines, and is occasionally set for small
dinners.
The Red Room
The Red Room has served as a parlor and music room, and
recent presidents have held small dinner parties in it. It has
been traditionally decorated in shades of red.
The State Dining Room
The State Dining Room is the larger of two dining rooms on the
State Floor. It is used for receptions, luncheons, and larger
formal dinners called State Dinners for visiting heads of state.
The room seats 140 guests.
The Family Dining Room
The Family Dining Room is used for smaller, more private meals.
Today the President uses the Family Dining Room less for
family and more for working lunches and small dinners. Family
dinners are more often served on the second floor in the
President's Dining Room.
The Second Floor
The Second Floor contains the private living apartments of the president and
first family. The following rooms are found on the Second Floor: Yellow Oval
Room, Treaty Room, President's Dining Room, Lincoln Bedroom, Lincoln Sitting
Room, Queens' Bedroom, Queens' Sitting Room, Center Hall, East Sitting Hall,
and West Sitting Hall. The Truman Balcony is also located on this floor. Four
private bedrooms and a dressing room are reserved for the president. Different
presidents have used various rooms as their bedroom.
The Yellow Oval Room
The Yellow Oval Room was first used as a drawing room by John
Adams. It has been used as a library, office, and family parlor.
Today the Yellow Oval Room is used for small receptions and
for greeting heads of states immediately before a State
Dinner.
The Treaty Room
The Treaty Room is a part of the first family's private
apartments, and is used as a study by the president.
The President’s Dining Room
The President's Dining Room was created in 1961 during the
administration of John F. Kennedy to provide a dining room in the
First Family's residence. The room had previously been used as a
bedroom and sitting room. The President's Dining Room is adjacent
to a small kitchen, and servicable by a dumbwaiter connecting it to
the main kitchen on the ground floor.
The Lincoln Bedroom
The Lincoln Bedroom is named for Abraham Lincoln and was used
by him as an office. The room is best known as a guest room used
by presidents to reward friends and political supporters.
The West Wing
The West Wing is the location of the Oval Office, Cabinet and
Roosevelt Room.
The Oval Office
The Oval Office is where the president meets with foreign leaders, and some of the
most formal speeches are given and televised in this oblong shaped office. No matter
what furniture or paintings are chosen in the office, two items must remain in place
behind the desk of every president: the American flag and the Presidential flag.
The Cabinet Room
The Cabinet Room is the meeting room for the cabinet secretaries
and advisors serving the President. The body is defined as the
United States Cabinet. The Cabinet Room looks out upon the
White House Rose Garden.
The Roosevelt Room
The Roosevelt Room is a meeting room located almost in the center of
the West Wing. The room is named for two related U.S. presidents,
Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Marine One Helicopter
Marine One is the call sign of any United States Marine Corps
aircraft carrying the President. A Marine Corps aircraft
carrying the Vice President is designated Marine Two.
Old Executive Building
The Eisenhower Executive Office Building was formally known
as the Old Executive Office Building, and originally was built as
the State, War, and Navy Building.
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