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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.
The president's bathtub had begun sinking into the floor. The investigators discovered that the foundations of the interior walls supporting the upper floors and roof were all but non-existent. [17] As they sank into the ground, the interior walls and floors were pulling away from the exterior walls leaving large gaps.
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.
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 interior was gutted, although most of the exterior sandstone walls remained standing. The north facade of the White House was the most damaged. But because the East Room had so little furniture in it, the section of the north facade fronting the East Room was the least damaged. [ 15 ]
The President's House. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 1986. ISBN 0-912308-28-1. Seale, William, The White House: The History of an American Idea. White House Historical Association: 1992, 2001. ISBN 0-912308-85-0. West, J.B. with Mary Lynn Kotz. Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies.
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The style of wall paneling and bracketed molding installed during the Truman reconstruction were based on a Georgian period model, contemporary with the design of the White House exterior. They were initially left unpainted, showing their grain and knots, a look popular in the 1950s.