The white house

1. The white house By: Megan Berube, Stephanie Aubertin, & Kendra Alexandre

2. The white house info. • The white house is used as a home for the past and the future presidents of the United States. It stands as a symbol of presidency. • The white house was built in 1792.

3. The white house info(cont.) • George Washington chose the location for the white house while he was in office, but he never got to live in it. • The cornerstone was laid October 13th, 1792.

4. The white house info(cont.) • During the War of 1812, the british burned it to the ground and it was rebuilt and enlarged.

5. White house facts & trivia • The white house is 168 feet long. • It takes 300 gallons of white paint to cover the exterior of just the residence portion of the White House,excluding the West and East Wings. • The white house fence encloses 18 acres of land.

6. Facts and trivia(cont.) • The white house has 132 rooms and 35 restrooms. • The white house has six floors.

7. Facts and Trivia(cont..) • In 1791, working with George Washington, artist and engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant prepared a city plan for Washington, D.C., reserving eighty-two acres for a "President’s Park."

8. Facts and trivia(cont.) • L’Enfant’s original design for a "President’s Palace" was approximately four times the size of the present White House. James Hoban substantially reduced the house’s scale in the final approved design.

9. Facts and trivia(cont.) • The construction of the White House started in 1792 and was first occupied by President John Adams in 1800. The total cost was $232,372.

10. The Oval Office • The Oval Office is in the center of the West Wing of the white house. • The Oval Office was built in 1909 and was part of an overall expansion of the west wing.

11. A visit to the white house • Any one person can go in the white house, but you must plan your trip ahead of time. • Attractions around the white house that you can visit include; The National Air and Space Museum, the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, National Museum of Natural History, National Gallery of Art, the National Archives, and the Washington National Cathedral.

12. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum The history of the National Air and Space Museum started in 1946, when Congress created the National Air Museum as a part of the Smithsonian Institution.

13. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum • It was first located in the Arts & Industries building at the mall and later in the Washington Armory, currently home to the National Museum of African Art.

14. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum In 1966, in the midst of the 'Space Race' between the United States and the Soviet Union, the name of the museum was changed to National Air and Space Museum. To accommodate its constantly growing collection of airplanes Amelia Earhart's Red Vega

15. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum • and spacecraft, a new 200,000 sq ft/18,500 sq m building was built at the National Mall. The modern and spacious building, designed by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum opened July 1st, 1976. It was immensely popular from the start, attracting more than 10 million visitors a year.

16. The Jefferson Memorial • Construction started in 1939 and it was dedicated four years later, in 1943. Since metal was being rationed during the Second World War, a plaster statue of Jefferson was created instead. After the war, the plaster statue was replaced by a 19ft / 6m tall statue in bronze, sculpted by Rudulph Evans.

17. The Lincoln Memorial • Construction started in 1914. The design by the New York architect Henry Bacon was based on a greek temple with 36 doric columns. Each column represents one state of the Union at the time of Lincoln's death.

18. The Lincoln Memorial • When the memorial was completed in May 1922, the Union had expanded with 12 more states, so the names of the 48 states were carved on the outside of the memorial's walls. After the admission of Alaska and Hawaii, a plaque was added with the names of the new states.

19. The National Museum of Natural History • The green-domed National Museum of Natural History was opened in 1910 and was an original part of the 1901 McMillan Plan, an architectural plan for the development of Washington D.C. which included designs by many famed U.S. architects of that era.

20. The National Museum of Natural History • The exterior of the museum was designed by Daniel Burnham and Charles McKim, who chose a grand Beaux Arts style to match the other buildings in the National Mall area. The remainder of the museum was designed by architects Hornblower and Marshall, a Washington D.C.-based partnership, Rotunda

21. The National Museum of Natural History • who were most concerned with providing as much natural light as possible in order for visitors to enjoy exhibitions that portrayed the natural world.

22. The National Museum of Natural History • An east wing and west wing were opened in 1964, designed by architectural firm Mills, Petticord, and Mills. Five years later, the name of the museum changed from the Museum of Natural History to the National Museum of Natural History, making it “the people’s natural history museum.”

23. The National Gallery of Art • A resolution of Congress in 1937 established the idea of an art gallery where the people of the U.S. could view and learn about great works of art.

24. The national gallery of art • Started with a collection of 141 works of European art donated by Andrew W. Mellon at the time of his death that same year, the gallery soon caught the eye of many other great collectors, who also began donating important works to the new gallery.

25. The national gallery of art • In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt opened the new home of the new art gallery, located at the national mall. Now known as the West Building, the museum was built at the site where President Garfield was assassinated in 1881. The museum continued to grow throughout the East Building

26. The national gallery of art • decades, and in 1978, an East Building was added to the complex, providing more space for exhibits as well as a research center and offices.

27. The Washington National Cathedral • The Washington National Cathedral, a 20th century Gothic cathedral, is located in Washington D.C. The official name of this Protestant Episcopal church is the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul.

28. The Washington National Cathedral • It is the highest point in Washington DC, 676 feet above sea level (higher than the Washington Monument), the second largest cathedral in the United States, and the sixth largest in the world.

29. The Washington National Cathedral • Construction began on September 29, 1907 under the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt and was completed exactly 83 years later to the day on September 29, 1990 at a ceremony where last stone was set.

30. The Washington National Cathedral • The plans for this cathedral were originally devised in the late 18th century, just after the American Revolution. In 1791, the Congress of the young United States decreed that the "Federal City" should be the based in Washington DC Major Pierre-Charles L'Enfant, a French architect/engineer working as chief planner for President Washington, laid out the plans for the city structure, and suggested erecting "a great church for national purposes" such as for public prayer, thanksgiving, funeral orations, etc.

31. The Washington National Cathedral • He further suggested this church be open to all people and religions for free. • Regardless of the support from President Washington, Joseph Nourse (Washington's First Registrar of the Treasury), and others for the proposal, the overwhelming attitudes possessed by the new republic regarding the separation of church and state led to the termination of this idea.

32. Special events • January~ • The Washington Antiques Show~ • Featuring more than 45 dealers of the highest quality from the United States, Canada and Europe, this prestigious annual antiques show is in its 52nd year. The theme for 2007 is Treasures of the Chesapeake.

33. Special events(cont..) • Whether you like to browse or have some serious buying in mind, this premier show offers a wonderful selection of fine period furnishings and decorative arts, vintage jewelry, porcelains, ceramics, silver, and architectural garden accents. On Saturday morning, dealers exhibiting at the Show will give verbal appraisals for $10 per item. If your treasured item is too large to manage, you may bring a photograph.

34. February~ • The Chinese New Year Parade~ • Each year, the Chinese Lunar New Year is celebrated in Washington, D.C. with a traditional parade and other festivities, which take place in Chinatown. This exciting and colorful festival will include a parade, folk dances and musical bands. The popular Chinese Lion and Dragon Dances will be featured, as well as a five-story high firecracker that will be ignited at 4 p.m.

35. The festival is hosted by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, an umbrella organization that represents 30 Chinese-American organizations throughout the Greater Washington area. • February 18th.

36. march~ • The Washington Home and Garden Show • With landscaped full-sized gardens and more than 800 booths, the 47th Annual Washington Home & Garden Show ranks among the biggest and best home and garden shows on the entire East Coast.

37. Visit hundreds of displays, see thousands of products and millions of flowers for the gardener and the home, plus treasures from around the world and a huge list of products for the kitchen, bath, flooring and much more.

38. April~ • Filmfest DC - Washington International Film Festival~ • The Washington, DC International Film Festival presents an outstanding array of films in various venues around the nation's capital, for several days every April. The festival features, documentaries, short films and special programs.

39. June~ • National Barbecue Battle~ • Safeway's 15th Annual Barbecue Battle will take place on Pennsylvania Avenue, near the U.S. Capitol in the heart of Washington, D.C. Each year, tens of thousands of people enjoy the festivities surrounding this competition of barbecue teams and restaurants from around the country, as they battle to win cash and prizes and the title of National Pork BBQ Champion.

40. In addition to the competition, visitors can enjoy cooking demonstrations, free food samples, interactive cooking displays and children's activities. With a tremendous amount of tent cover, this is a rain or shine event.

41. Benefiting the Metropolitan Police Boys and Girls Clubs and DC Doubledutch, Safeway's Barbecue Battle celebrates the art of barbecue in a spirit of community, family and fun.

42. July~ • Smithsonian Folklife Festival~ • Initiated in 1967, the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage presents this annual exploration and celebration of contemporary living traditions.

43. As the largest annual cultural event in the nation's capital, it attracts more than one million attendees to enjoy a variety of programs, featuring music, song, dance, celebratory performance, crafts and cooking demonstrations, storytelling, illustrations of workers' culture, and narrative sessions for discussing cultural issues.

44. September~ • Labor Day Concert - Presented by the National Symphony Orchestra~ • The annual National Symphony Orchestra Labor Day concert, conducted by Emil de Cou, marks the beginning of the Kennedy Center Prelude Festival. The concert, which takes place on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building, is free to the public.

45. October~ • The Annual Marine Corps Marathon~ • A weekend of fun surrounds this annual race, now in its 31st year. The beautiful course, which has appropriately earned the nickname "The Marathon of the Monuments," crosses the Key Bridge into Georgetown and continues through D.C., passing the Kennedy Center and numerous monuments and memorials, including the Lincoln, FDR, Korean War and Vietnam Veteran's memorials, Washington Monument, and the U.S. Capitol.

46. A weekend of fun surrounds this annual race, now in its 31st year. The beautiful course, which has appropriately earned the nickname "The Marathon of the Monuments," crosses the Key Bridge into Georgetown and continues through D.C., passing the Kennedy Center and numerous monuments and memorials, including the Lincoln, FDR, Korean War and Vietnam Veteran's memorials, Washington Monument, and the U.S. Capitol.

47. November~ • Washington Craft Show~ • This popular event features 185 of the nation's leading craft artists and is a wonderful venue for finding beautiful and unique holiday gifts. The theme for the 2006 show is Personal Style: Craft as Self Expression.

48. Special programs during the show explore emerging trends in home and office design with craft, an interactive session covering the do’s and don’ts of selecting craft to enhance your world, a demonstration about how to subtly craft your fashion style and much more.

49. december~ • Lighting of the National Menorah~ • The lighting of one of the world's largest Menorahs marks the Festival of Chanukah eight-day Jewish holiday. Following the ceremony, complimentary donuts and latkes will be served.

50. The mid-winter Jewish holiday of Chanukah (also spelled Chanukkah, Hanukkah and Hanukka) is a celebration of the ancient victory of the Maccabees over the occupation of Jerusalem by Syrian-Greeks and their king Antiochus IV.