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The Public Buildings Administration was asked to investigate the condition of the White House, but no action was taken until January 1948. After the commissioner of the Public Buildings Administration, which had responsibility for the White House, noticed the Blue Room chandelier swaying overhead during another crowded reception, he and the White House Architect conducted their own on-site ...
Want to see what the White House looks like completely gutted? Click through the gallery below to see photos from the major renovation . (All photos and captions are from The U.S. National Archives .)
The Truman Balcony on the second floor of the White House The portico before construction of the balcony (photo c. 1910–1935) The Truman Balcony is the second-floor balcony of the Executive Residence of the White House, which overlooks the South Lawn. It was completed in March 1948, during the presidency of Harry S. Truman.
By 1948 the White House had become physically unstable, and the house was temporarily vacated while a major reconstruction took place. The building's interior was dismantled, the furnishings and decorative items were stored, and a new steel frame was built within the exterior walls.
The first room in the White House to carry the name "Lincoln Bedroom" was in the northwest corner of the White House. It existed from 1929 (at which time it was changed from the Prince of Wales Bedroom) until 1961, when First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy transformed it into the President's Dining Room .
During the White House's 1902 renovation, the room was turned into a sitting room. President Franklin D. Roosevelt used it for his "fireside chat" radio broadcasts in the 1930s. [21] Rebuilt (along with the rest of the gutted White House) during the 1948-to-1952 renovation, the room became the Diplomatic Reception Room.
The White House opened its doors to the newly refurbished Old Family Dining Room, and First Lady Michelle Obama decided to celebrate by surprising visitors during a morning White House tour.
Aerial view of the White House complex, including Pennsylvania Avenue (closed to traffic) in the foreground, the Executive Residence and North Portico (center), the East Wing (left), and the West Wing and the Oval Office at its southeast corner. The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States.