The White House Reconstruction, also known as the Truman Reconstruction, was a comprehensive dismantling and rebuilding of the interior of the White House from 1949 to 1952. In 1948, after nearly a century and a half of wartime destruction and rebuilding, hurried renovations, additions of new services, technologies, the expanded third floor, and inadequate foundations, architectural and engineering investigations found that the Executive Residence portion of the White House Complex was facing near-imminent collapse, and it was deemed unsafe for occupancy. President Harry S. Truman, his family, and the entire residence staff were relocated across the street to Blair House, and over the next three years, the White House was gutted, expanded, and rebuilt.
Emerging problem
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. In 1946, Congress authorized $780,000 (equal to $ today) for repairs. The mansion's heaving floors and mysterious sounds had been known by staff and first families for many years. For the first two years of his presidency, according to White House photographer Abbie Rowe, President Truman heard "ghosts" roaming the halls of the second floor residence. 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. The report was dismissed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
In early 1946, during a formal reception in the Blue Room, the First Lady noticed the very large crystal chandelier overhead swaying and its crystals tinkling. The floor of the Oval Study above moved noticeably when walked on, and a valet was then attending the president while he was taking a bath. 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." In early 1947, a "stretching" chandelier in the East Room and another swaying in the Oval Study caused further alarm. "Floors no longer merely creaked; they swayed."
Investigations 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 investigation the next day. They discovered split and gouged-out beams supporting the ceiling and second floor above. He reported "that the beams are staying up there from force of habit only." The number of occupants in the second floor was restricted, temporary fixes were made to some of the beams, and scaffolding-type supports were erected throughout the first family's second floor living quarters.
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. In February, the president invited the president of the American Institute of Architects, Douglas Orr, and the president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Richard E. Dougherty, to "make a structural survey of the safety of the White House". Their one-day investigation concluded with a report issued that same day which said the second floor structure was a fire hazard and was in danger of collapse.
They recommended that the second floor should be reconstructed as soon as possible, electricity use be cut to a minimum, and that further investigations be undertaken. Congress provided $50,000 for a more thorough investigation. Additional engineers and other professionals were engaged from the private sector. Walls, ceilings, and floors were opened up to provide access to the investigators.
Collapse
In June 1948, a leg of Margaret Truman's piano crashed through the floor in her second floor sitting room and through the ceiling of the Family Dining Room below. Investigators found the floor boards had rotted, the main floor beam was split completely through, and the ceiling below had dropped . The investigators determined that the west end of the second floor was sinking.
The first family was relocated from the west to the east end of the floor. Steel bracing was added to support the second floor and ceilings throughout the residence. The investigation concluded that the problem was a collapsing building, not just a floor, and "heroic remedies" would be required.
That year was an election year and the president feared that news of the collapsing White House would serve as an unflattering metaphor for his administration. On September 30, 1948, the White House Architect announced that the White House's "structural nerves" had been damaged, the second floor would need to be rebuilt, but that overall the building was in "good shape". He estimated the cost of repairs might be $1 million.
The on-site forensic investigations continued while the first family was away campaigning. In October, the ceiling of the East Room began to collapse and required wood supports. The structure under the Grand Staircase was found to be crumbling. 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.
As they sank into the ground, the interior walls and floors were pulling away from the exterior walls leaving large gaps. They determined that the interior of the house was sinking and in danger of collapsing inward; the entire mansion was unsafe, except for the new Truman Balcony.
Upon returning to the White House the day after winning the election, the president was informed by the Federal Works Agency that he would need to vacate the White House so critical repairs could be made. On November 7, 1948, the news was made public. The Trumans departed town and within two weeks the White House was vacated. Furniture, staff, and the first family moved into Blair House, the President's guest house, across Pennsylvania Avenue.
Contributing factors There were multiple contributing factors that led to the White House's pending collapse in 1948, including original and subsequent design flaws, improper materials, multiple small and major renovations carried out by many presidents to accommodate differing tastes, needs, and advances in technologies. Collectively, they were described as a "slow murder" of the White House.
Fire: In August 1814, the White House was gutted by a fire set by British troops during the Burning of Washington in the War of 1812. Only a heavy rainstorm prevented the entire structure from being destroyed. By 1817, the building had been rebuilt. Key portions of the scorched wooden structure were re-used.
Services: Technological advances in heating, plumbing, lighting, communications, and elevators were all added into the White House during its first century-and-a-half. When the White House was constructed, it had no indoor plumbing, on-site running water, fire fighting systems, electricity, or communications systems. Many of these were cut through major structural supports, including reducing wooden beams from to thickness. Earlier systems that became obsolete, such as old water pipes, gas pipes for lights, and forced-air heating ducts, were abandoned in place, adding significant weight to the building.
1902 renovation: In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt engaged architect Charles F. McKim of McKim, Mead, and White for a major renovation. In addition to adding a "temporary" West Wing and upgrading interior finishes, the work included adding bathrooms, removing the west stair, expanding the second floor West Sitting Hall, and expanding the State Dining Room. This involved removing a load-bearing wall which had supported the floor and walls above and then hanging them from the existing attic (later third floor) and roof structure. Many structural deficiencies were noted and partially addressed in what McKim termed a "nip and tuck".
Third floor addition: In 1927, President Coolidge engaged architect William Adams Delano to design and add a concrete and steel third floor under a rebuilt roof. The original roof and attic floor were supported only on the heavy exterior walls. This renovation transferred much of their weight onto the interior walls which by 1948 began to fail. Bathrooms added to this new floor were outfitted with second-hand pipes that over the following years leaked and caused water damage on the floors below.
Construction flaws: The interior supporting walls were made of brick without proper foundations, unlike the thick exterior sandstone walls supported on relatively deep and wide foundations. By 1948, the interior walls were settling significantly into the underlying clay soils and thin rubble base, causing them to pull away from the exterior walls. In time, the exterior walls would have been pulled in and collapsed. The structural integrity of the marble grand staircase was found to be in 'imminent danger' during the 1948 Congressional survey. In the 1880s, secondhand bricks had been acquired for the staircase's supporting structure and were 'disintegrating' beneath it by 1948. 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.
Schedule: A contributing factor common to most of this work was a rushed schedule. Presidents facing a four-year term didn't have the time, and in many cases, the patience, needed for proper design and construction. For the 1902 renovation, President Theodore Roosevelt allowed just four months.
Project definition By late 1948, three main options were considered for replacement of the White House: Demolish and rebuild the interior, keeping the exterior walls intact. Demolish the building entirely and construct a new executive mansion. Demolish the building entirely, salvage the exterior walls and rebuild them and a new interior. During 1949, the investigations were completed, the architectural and engineering design was finalized, and cost estimates concluded that the early estimate of $1 million was inadequate. 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. The total number of rooms was nearly doubled to 132.
There was significant debate among congressional committee members considering the project, including many in Congress who were outwardly hostile toward the president. Both Trumans lobbied in favor of preserving the exterior walls intact. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote a newspaper column advocating for its preservation, and the White House Architect also expressed his support.
The desire to seek the most economic solution was weighed against the costs of maintaining the White House's historic presence. In the autumn of 1949, Congress authorized funding of $5.4 million ($61.4 million in 2021 dollars) for the entire project to reconstruct the White House while keeping the exterior walls in place.
Key participants
Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion
Congress created the Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion following the March 1949 recommendation of the president. 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. It was composed of six men: two each appointed by the president, the Senate, and the House of Representatives.