Whitehouse Facts for Kids
Have you ever seen the Whitehouse? The big white house in Washington D.C. where the U.S. President lives. If you have, you know just how massive it is. Did you know it has 16 bedrooms and 35 bathrooms? How about that many of the Presidents have there own library in the home? How cool is that? Don’t believe me? You can check it out for yourself with a guided tour. The Whitehouse sees more than 6,000 visitors each day. Don’t have time to travel? That’s okay! You can read about it with these Whitehouse facts for kids. We will cover it all from the history of the Whitehouse to the architecture and amenities.
The Building of the Whitehouse
1. The Whitehouse was originally built in 1792 and has been the home to all U.S. presidents since John Adams. Fun fact: Every President has lived in the Whitehouse except for President George Washington. Construction of the White house began during Washington’s presidency, but it was not completed until after he was out of office.
2. Like many other buildings and homes, the President’s house has been expanded and renovated countless times throughout history. In fact, the Whitehouse was almost entirely rebuilt in 1814 after the British set it on fire during the War of 1812.
3. The Whitehouse was originally white, but it has since been painted other colors including gray, yellow, and white again. Any ideas how many gallons of paint it would take to cover the entire Whitehouse? It takes 570 gallons of paint just to cover the outside of the Whitehouse. That’s a lot of paint!
Whitehouse Facts for Kids – Where is the Whitehouse?
4. The Whitehouse is located in Washington D.C, which is the capital city of the United States. The exact address of the White house is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with its very own postal code: 20500. That’s right! The Whitehouse grounds are so big and so important that they deserve their own postal code.
5. The White house complex covers 18 acres of land and the building itself offers 55,000 square feet of living space across six stories. That’s one huge house!
What’s in the Whitehouse?
6. Besides the current President and the first family, very few people live in the Whitehouse. It is more of executive mansion where the President can live and work, although living there sounds pretty cool.
7. There are 132 interior rooms in the Whitehouse, including 35 bathrooms, 16 bedrooms, and 3 kitchens.
8. The Whitehouse also has an indoor movie theater, billiard room, bowling alley, and swimming pool. The swimming pool was added in 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the bowling alley was installed at the request of President Harry S. Truman in 1947. Which room would be your favorite?
9. There are about 100 rooms in the Whitehouse that are used for storage, or as an office space, but are not open to the public.
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Whitehouse Facts for Kids – The White house Kitchen
10. Each kitchen in the Whitehouse can accommodate 140 dinner guests. There is also a state dining room in the Whitehouse that can accommodate many more.
11. The Whitehouse kitchen staff prepare approximately 1,000 meals each day. That’s a lot of food!
Outside and Other Amenities
12. The Whitehouse grounds include a variety of facilities, such as a tennis court, putting green, jogging track, and basketball court. This outside surface serves the recreational needs of the first family and also allows for social events. Sounds like a pretty cool place for a birthday party, right?
13. There are also several gardens on the Whitehouse grounds, including the Rose Garden and the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden. Do you recognize that name? Jacqueline Kennedy was the wife of President John F. Kennedy, making her the first lady during his rule. Every first lady has made her own changes and additions to the Whitehouse, including redecorating various rooms and adding new gardens or other outdoor features.
14. The south lawn of the Whitehouse includes a helicopter pad, so the President can travel right from his own backyard!
Whitehouse Staff
15. The Whitehouse has thousands of employees who take care of the day-to-day operations of the house and grounds. Interestingly enough, none of these staff members permanently reside in the Whitehouse. Would you ever want to work in the Whitehouse?
16. The Whitehouse is the main workplace of the President of the United States. The President will complete most of their work in the oval office, a famous room named for its shape.
Whitehouse Facts for Kids – The History of the Whitehouse
17. During World War II, besides being the official residence of the US President, the Whitehouse also served as a military command center.
18. The Whitehouse has been featured in many movies and TV shows over the years, including “The West Wing ” and “House of Cards.”
More Interesting Whitehouse Facts for Kids
19. Every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt has had a Presidential library built to house their papers and artifacts from their time in office.
20. There is a white house replica in each U.S. state and territory, as well as in several other countries around the world.
21. The Whitehouse has its own power plant and water supply system.
22. The Whitehouse is surrounded by a security fence that is about 7 feet tall. That’s much taller than you!
Would you Want to Visit the Whitehouse
Now that you’ve learned all about the Whitehouse, would you want to visit it? The Whitehouse receives about 6,000 visitors per day, so just make sure you send a formal request through your member of Congress at least 21 days in advance.
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