Not Many People Realize Just How Much The White House Was Renovated Some Years Back

by N/A, 10 years ago | 2 min read

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While the White House might seem like a perfectly pristine building now, it didn't always look like that. When President Harry Truman took office, it was actually a total mess.

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Not only did the White House have to receive minor changes to its structure when things like indoor plumbing, electricity and indoor heating were invented, the British actually burned the building in 1814.

So when 1949 rolled around, the White House was due for a BIG makeover.

Things were in pretty bad shape. The New York Times actually reported at the time that even certain supportive brick structures were beginning to disintegrate. The need for renovation was getting pretty urgent.

They even had to cancel the 1948 holiday party because of all the repairs neededâ€”what a bummer!

There was talk of just building an entirely new building, since the damages were so extensive and their repairs would be so expensive, but President Truman fought to keep the White House in tact.

Said President Truman: "It perhaps would be more economical from a purely financial standpoint to raze the building and to rebuild completely...In doing so, however, there would be destroyed a building of tremendous historical significance in the growth of the nation."