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.
Famous quotes containing the words white, house and/or complex:
“What a lay me down this is
with two pink, two orange,
two green, two white goodnights.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“I always have felt strange when we came home
To the dark house after so long an absence,
And the key rattled loudly into place
Seemed to warn someone to be getting out
At one door as we entered at another.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“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)