Donald Trump will enter the White House for the first time as president today, and as it may take him a while to get his bearings, we’ve got the low-down on the best bits of the first family’s residence.
1. Abraham Lincoln’s ghost haunts the building
Don’t believe us? Well, take the word of Winston Churchill, who claimed he spotted the famous ghost, as well as First Lady Grace Coolidge and Queen Wilhemina of the Netherlands.
Unsurprisingly, he’s been seen in the Lincoln bedroom and Yellow Oval room.
2. It has a solarium
The 3rd floor of the White House includes a Solarium where first families have relaxed since 1927. pic.twitter.com/9rvvVEnKjK
— Presidential Trivia (@triviapotus) 25 June 2015
This room, decked with floor-to-ceiling windows, is a beautiful space for Trump to top up his tan. Its homely, cosy properties made it the perfect family room, but it has been put to many other uses over the years.
The Kennedys used it as a schoolroom for their children, President Roosevelt used it as a lunch room to escape his desk and President Ronald Reagan used it as a recuperation space after his attempted assassination.
3. The basement has pretty much everything a president needs
Located in the basement, this is the White House dentist’s office in 1948. pic.twitter.com/cezKHpyacH
— DowntownDentalChi (@Downtown_Dental) 19 July 2015
This includes a dentist, florist, carpenters and a laundry, among other things.
4. There’s a bowling alley and two swimming pools
The indoor pool was built for President Roosevelt in 1933 who used a therapy pool to ease the symptoms of his illness.
Roosevelt contracted polio in his thirties and the effects stayed with him for the remainder of his life.
Unfortunately for Trump, it may take a little while to get in there for a swim. President Nixon had the pool covered over to accommodate a press briefing room. Although the pool itself is still intact, it’ll mean moving the press elsewhere.
Nixon did, however, make his own adjustments. He built a bowling alley in the basement which is still in use today, as is the outdoor pool built by President Ford in 1975.
5. George Washington never lived there
He is the only US president not to have lived in the White House, having overseen its construction from Philadelphia. He died in 1799, before the building was completed.
The first presidential couple to move in were John and Abigail Adams in 1800.
6. It has 35 bathrooms
So there’s no need to worry about finding a loo when you need one. Just so you know, the Obamas buy their own toilet paper. They may live rent free, but they are billed for food and amenities.
7. It has its own beekeeper
Charlie Brandts is the first ever White House Beekeeper, looking after hives on the South Lawn since 2009. The White House has over 70,000 bees to help pollinate the Kitchen Garden.
8. It has its own beer
President Barack Obama is the first President to brew beer on site, using a kit he purchased with his own cash. He has produced four types – Honey Ale, Honey Blonde Ale, Honey Porter and Honey Brown.
Donald Trump doesn’t drink alcohol, but his staffers may wish to try their hand at brewing.
9. Solar panels are on the roof
President Obama installed solar panels in 2010, but he wasn’t the first president to look at solar as an energy source for the White House.
President Jimmy Carter put 32 panels on the house in 1979, which were removed by his successor Ronald Reagan in 1981.
10. Some weird animals have lived there
Presidents are interesting people, so you can’t expect them just to own generic pets like cats and dogs. President Roosevelt and his family owned a barn owl, a hyena and a bear, among other animals.
President William Howard Taft owned two cows and President Woodrow Wilson had a flock of sheep who grazed the White House lawn.
11. The design of the White House was chosen in a competition
The winner, James Hoban, loosely based his design on Leinster House in Dublin, the home of the Irish parliament.