Soft Spot For The White House || English Version

Prologue

Washington D.C USA, April 1993

The White House has always been undoubtedly the most important symbol of US history and culture. The beautiful architecture in the middle of the heart of Washington has played a very important role in American politics and society for many years. The White House, considered to be the most famous building in America, was built between 1792 and 1800 and has since become the official seat of the United States. So far, the powerful residence has gained a variety of names - known as the Presidential Palace, the Presidential House and the Executive Headquarters. "White House" as its current name is owed by thirty second President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the years 1933-1945. The initiator of the entire residence was the first president of the United States, George Washington, whose project was selected from nine works sent to the contest in 1792 in Charleston by Irish-born architect James Hoban. Unfortunately, President Washington was not able to move to a new home, because he suddenly had passed away three years before the end of the eight-year construction. Therefore, the first steward in the White House was his successor, John Adams.

The most famous building in the world was designed in neoclassical style made of stone using Aquia Creek sandstone painted white and it measured over seventy feet, which is more than twenty one meters high. The White House was repeatedly rebuilt and renovated, among other things due to fires in times of war, but each time it has retained the original, neoclassical shape of the mansion, which has been still well known today. Particularly characteristic was the front porch with Ionic columns and the crowning balustrade. The building has been consisted mainly of three parts, including the Western and Eastern Wings and the Executive Residency. The adjoining grounds, two beautifully landscaped gardens named Rose and Jacqueline Kennedy, formed the so-called complex in front of the building.

The head of the country and his family have been living on the second and third floors of the Executive Residence, named the oldest part of the complex. The Western Wing was built in 1902 and has been known as the workplace of the president and officials, where people could also find the famous Oval Office, which was created only for the President himself. A part of this wing was also taken by white-house journalists, who have gathered in a special so-called James Brady Press Briefing Room, in which press conferences of heads of state have taken place, and at least once a day, a Press Secretary or one of his deputies have been responding to all the questions of journalists. Consequently, the White House completely closed this wing for visitors.

The East Wing, which has contained additional office space, was added to the White House in 1942 mainly to hide the construction of an underground bunker for the head of state and his relatives, who could withstand even a nuclear attack. The East Wing has intermittently housed the offices and staff of the First Lady, and the White House Social Office. There were also rooms associated with the tourist role, as well as sections of the presidential office responsible for the organization of various events and ceremonies. The White House was the only presidential residence in the world that has attracted more than one and a half million visitors each year from around the world, allowing them to take a closer look at the historic work of the American head of state and its predecessors.

William Styles knew perfectly well how the presidental residence has functioned on a daily basis. For more than thirty two years serving as a security guard at the Secret Service company, he admired how people across the American borders look with delight at this enormous architecture, how TV reporters and radio journalists every second day take part in press conferences and how the president himself welcomes other presidents of the world's most recognizable countries. It was William's routine.

The White House has been primarily one of the best guarded buildings in the world, largely due to the Secret Service agents, who have guarded the building and the president twenty four hours a day. Each of them thoroughly have known the types of security systems such as sensors, detectors and airspace monitoring. By passing the protection of people from the power structures of this country and official US government officials, the Secret Service has also dealt with such things as counter corruption, financial fraud, identity theft and computer crime. Most of them also accompanied the president and his relatives in delegations outside the border.