White House Reconstruction

A century and a half of wartime destruction and rebuilding, hurried renovations, additions of new services, technologies, the added third floor and inadequate foundations brought the Executive Residence portion of the White House Complex to near-imminent collapse.

When the Trumans moved into the executive mansion in 1945, they found it badly in need of repair after twelve years of neglect during the Great Depression and World War II.

[2][3] Government agencies had expressed concern about the condition of the building, including a 1941 report from the Army Corps of Engineers warning of failing wood structure, crumbling masonry, and major fire hazards.

Truman described a potential scenario of him in his bathtub falling through the floor into the midst of a Daughters of the American Revolution tea "wearing nothing more than his reading glasses.

On January 30, 1948, the president received a confidential report from the Commissioner of Public Buildings warning of the "imminent collapse" of the second floor of the mansion.

[18] Services: Technological advances in heating, plumbing, lighting, communications, and elevators were all added into the White House during its first century-and-a-half.

This was a notable safety concern as the White House had only one small elevator at the time and the grand staircase supported significant human traffic.

Presidents facing a four-year term didn't have the time, and in many cases, the patience, needed for proper design and construction.

In addition to simply replacing the interior, the mansion was to be modernized, the third floor expanded, two basement levels added, and there would be a major expansion of underground spaces for air conditioning and other services.

Eleanor Roosevelt wrote a newspaper column advocating for its preservation, and the White House Architect also expressed his support.

It was granted authority to act on behalf of the federal government in the execution of the project, including responsibility for the White House and its site.

While the commission was in overall charge of the project, President Truman was a highly influential participant from early design and throughout all stages of construction.

His experience included selecting the route of the Panama Canal and constructing the Alaska Highway during World War II.

The most noticeable change to the state floor was revising the Grand Stair to discharge eastward into the Entrance Hall to provide a more ceremonial procession from the upstairs.

This allowed access from the Center Hall via a short ramp in a central passageway that was narrowed to accommodate an additional service stair and added closets.

Some changes requested by the Trumans, such as brightening the State Dining Room by painting the dark wood paneling "Federalist" celadon green, were also popular in the mid-20th Century.

The low bid was for $100,000 from John McShain Inc.; by the end of the project, he had reportedly lost approximately $200,000, bringing his total costs for supervision, management, and other overhead to around $300,000.

New underpinning foundations extending down 20 feet (6 m) were hand dug under the existing exterior walls, to increase their load bearing capability.

Access to the area of work was highly restricted, both by security, the occupied West Wing, and by the exterior stone walls which had to remain in place.

The logistics of construction were complex; it was described as needing to "balance a stone house in the sky" while new foundations were dug beneath its walls.

[34] The architect was often behind in providing key drawings, specifications, and reviews to the contractor, in part due to delays in obtaining numerous approvals from the commission.

Project 9 was officially described as "certain protective measures" to be added to the new basement: an underground shelter to resist attack from an atomic bomb.

This additional construction included major excavation, heavy concrete reinforcement of the mansion's basement, upgrading the existing air raid shelter, and dismantling much of the East Terrace and colonnade.

Inside the mansion a heavily reinforced concrete tunnel to connect the West and East Wings was added through the middle of the new basement, which complicated and delayed the main construction.

Much of the paneling was reinstalled in the main public rooms, but other historic elements were simply copied to accommodate increasing cost and time constraints.

To avoid profiteering from the millions of items being carted away from the work site, the project ran a highly publicized souvenir program.

[37] The store later offered their interior design, decorating, and furniture supply services at true cost with no profit or ability to advertise the work.

[41] The Trumans both lobbied Congress to preserve the exterior of the White House and, like the Eisenhowers and Kennedys who followed them, were not pleased with the lack of historical furniture.

Previously, the operations of the White House and West Wing were significantly reduced in summertime as first families and official staff fled the heat and humidity of the capital for cooler climates.

[46] President Truman publicly expressed praise for the completed work, but the night of his return to the White House he wrote in his private diary: "With all the trouble and worry it is worth it – but not 5½ million dollars!