Давайте проектировать и строить. Гвоздева А.А - 29 стр.

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flict, controversy and surprising transformations. Indeed, the elegant porticoed mansion we see today looks
very different from the austere Georgian house designed two hundred years ago.
Originally, plans for a "President's Palace" were developed by artist and engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant.
Working with George Washington to design a capital city for the new nation, L'Enfant envisioned a majestic
home approximately four times the size of the present White House.
At George Washington's suggestion, Irish-born architect James Hoban traveled to the federal capital and
submitted a plan for the presidential home. Eight other architects also submitted designs, but Hoban won. The
"White House" proposed by Hoban was a refined Georgian mansion in the Palladian style. Built of pale gray
sandstone, it would have 3 floors and more than 100 rooms.
On Oct. 13, 1792, the cornerstone was laid. President Washington oversaw the construction, but he never
lived in the presidential house. In 1800, when the home was almost finished, America's second president, John
Adams and his wife Abigail moved in. Costing $232,372, the house was considerably smaller than the grand
palace L'Enfant had envisioned.
Only thirteen years after the house was completed, disaster struck. The War of 1812 brought invading Brit-
ish armies who set the house afire. James Hoban rebuilt it according to the original design, but this time the
sandstone walls were painted white.
The next major renovation began in 1824. Appointed by Thomas Jefferson, designer and drafter Benjamin
Henry Latrobe became "Surveyor of the Public Buildings" of the United States. He set to work completing the
Capitol, the presidential home and other buildings in Washington D.C. It was Latrobe who added the graceful
portico. This pedimented roof supported by columns transforms the Georgian home into a neoclassical estate.
Over the decades, the presidential home underwent many more renovations. In 1835, running water and
central heating were installed. Electric lights were added in 1901. Although the building was often called the
"White House," the name did not become official until 1902, when President Theodore Roosevelt adopted it.
Yet another disaster struck in 1929 – a fire swept through the West Wing. Then, after World War II, the
two main floors of the building were gutted and completely renovated. For most of his presidency, Harry Tru-
man was not able to live in the house.
Today, the home of America's president has 6 floors, 7 staircases, 132 rooms, 32 bathrooms, 28 fireplaces,
147 windows, 412 doors and 3 elevators.
Despite two hundred years of disaster, discord and remodeling, the original design of the immigrant Irish
builder, James Hoban, remains intact – the sandstone exterior walls are original.
Active Vocabulary
1) privilege – привилегия
2) prestigious – престижный
3) controversy – спор, разногласие
4) portico – галерея
5) majestic – волшебный
6) sandstone – песчаник
7) cornerstone – краеугольный камень
8) disaster – бедствие
9) to invade – захватывать
10) drafter – составитель документов
11) graceful – изящный
12) pediment – фронтон
13) neoclassical estate – неоклассическое поместье
14) running water – водопровод
15) central heating – центральное отопление
16) electric lights – электричество
17) to gut – разрушать

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