The White House Complex is the designation of the three principal structures of the White House and the adjoining outdoor ceremonial areas, which, along with the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, serve as the seat of the executive branch of United States government. The structural components include the Executive Residence, where the First Family resides; the West Wing, the location of the Oval Office, Cabinet Room, and Roosevelt Room; and the East Wing, which houses the offices of the First Lady and the White House Social Secretary, and also provides public access to the State Rooms of the Executive Residence for tours and social events.
The adjoining outdoor spaces are used for ceremonial and social events. They include the Rose Garden, Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, North Lawn, and South Lawn.
The central executive residence, the original building of the complex, was built 1792–1800. The east and west porticos were designed by Thomas Jefferson and built in 1803. In 1859 the East Colonnade was dismantled. The East Wing and West Wing were constructed in 1902, and a modified version of the east colonnades was constructed in 1902 on the same foundations as Jefferson's 1803 original.
The White House Chief Usher is the head of household staff and operations.
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“Mr. Christian, it is about time for many people to begin to come to the White House to discuss different phases of the coal strike. When anybody comes, if his special problem concerns the state, refer him to the governor of Pennsylvania. If his problem has a national phase, refer him to the United States Coal Commission. In no event bring him to me.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)
“I’m a prodigal son. The black sheep of a white flock. I shall die on the gallows.”
—William A. Drake (1900–1965)
“When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery...”
—Bible: Hebrew, Deuteronomy 8:12-14.
“Instead of seeing society as a collection of clearly defined “interest groups,” society must be reconceptualized as a complex network of groups of interacting individuals whose membership and communication patterns are seldom confined to one such group alone.”
—Diana Crane (b. 1933)