Evening Star Newspaper, June 2, 1929, Page 102

THE SUNDAY B TSR s STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JUNE 2, ¥29—PART 7. 29 ewgaws adie “Gadgets” The first step in the enlargement of the President’s office quarters. The basement of the executive wing is being made over into business-like rooms for employes of the W hite House. BY REX COLLIER. 5 HE ghost of James Hoban must be smiling with satisfaction, as it listens ; these days to the symphony of bang- ing hammers and rasping saws aris- ing from the White House grounds. There have been times when the noise of hammers and saws was anything but music to the shade of the original architect of the Executive Mansion, for the noise told of in- harmonious “improvements” being perpetrated by well intentioned but misguided guardians ©f the President’s house. If James Hoban could see today the trans- formations being made in and about the child of his creative brain at 1600 Pennsylvania avenue, he would be content to rest in peace out in Mount Olivet Cemetery—at least, as long as the White House remains in the care of its present accomplished occupants. ‘The presidential residence has fallen into the sympathetic hands of a master who has been the foremost campaigner for “beiier homes in America” and of a mistress to whom home- building and home-keeping are hobbies, and ‘whose flair for architecture has been demon- $trated in practical fashion. A RCHITECT HOBAN built for the future. He envisioned in the original President’s mansion a structure which could be enlarged tastefully to accommodate the needs of a grow- ing country. His artistic sensibilities undoubt- ‘edly would have been shocked had he lived to ‘witness some of the distortions to which his pet project was to be subjected. Inharmonious eenhouses and stables were to appear upon e grounds outside, and contorted schemes of interior decoration were to crop up from time to time within the sacred portals of the “pal- ace.” Fortunately for Hoban’s architectural mas- ‘terpiece, the White House in recent years has been in the safe keeping of kindly trustees. /As often as Congress would permit, the gew- gaws and gadgets which have barnacled them- selves upon the dignified beauty of the Capi- tal's oldest Federal structure have been re- ‘moved. Minor improvements have been made ‘with the advent of each administration, and major alterations were effected during the Tegimes of President Roosevelt and President ‘Coolidge. And now we have another improve- ment program under way. . It is an anomaly that the grandson of a ‘President, who was criticized for cluttering ‘up the White House with distasteful furni- ‘ture and furnishings, should be the one on ‘whom much credit falls for restoration of the ‘original beauty of the building. Col. U. S. ‘Grant, 3d, director of public buildings and ‘parks, was in charge of the reconstruction of ‘the upper story and roof during the Coolidge ‘administration, and is supervising the recon- ‘struction work instituted by President Hoover. _ Col. Grant is sticking close to the original fdcals of Hoban, a policy from which Presidents ‘Grant and Arthur and some other Executive$ ‘are said to have strayed in seeking to enhance the appearance of the edifice. President Grant Wwas accused of equipping the mansion with Succession of Art-Loving Presidents Has Made Big Changes in the White Eouse. Terraces on Roofs—The Carpenters Are Now Busy. heavy, Inartistic wardrobes and oth.r pieces of furniture, and President Arthur had some of the rooms lavishly treated with crystal and gilt and scrollwork, President Roosevelt carried out the most ef- fective reconstruction program that had been launched up to his time—excepting the rebuild- ing of the White House after its partial de- struction by the British in 1814. He cleared the interior of extraneous furnishings, removed the old greenhouse from the west grounds and erected the present office wing, now being enlarged. Previously the offices had been in the White House proper. All the improvements were made to conform to the original archi- tecture, which has been designated as an adap- tation of the English Georgian period. As planned by Hoban, the White Haquse was a fairly faithful reproduction of the Irish home of the Duke uf Leinster. The Colonial aspect was effected through the addition of the col- umned porticos, which were added in the- late 1820s. The reconstruction of the third story and roof, completed while Mr. Coolidge occupied the White House, removed the last vestiges of discord from the architectural picture, mod- ernized the structure so that it is now wholly safe from stresses and fire, and brought to realization Hoban's primary plan for a three- story residential structure, WHEN Mr. and Mrs. Hoover took over the mansion they found themselves in a thor- oughly up-to-date dwelling, shorn of “trick” devices which not so long ago featured it, and equipped with comforts and conveniences to be found in the best of modern-day homes. Among the quaint appurtenances removed during the recent rebuilding were the freak fire escapes, which once stuck out like sore In the gay days of 1826, after addition of the north portico of the W hite House. The terraced side wings in those days housed servants and horses. thumbs over the portico roofs. These novel instruments consisted of metal “yardarms,” to which were attached bucketlike objects con- taining chains. In case of fire the President was supposed to run up to the roof and leap to safety with the aid of the chain. It is said that the only time these escapes ever were tested out was when the Roosevelt boys were making things lively around the White House. They enjoyed descending from the roof to the ground by the chains, to the perplexity of at- taches. So fire-resistive has the mansion been made, by removal of the frame upper story, that it is felt no fire escapes are needed on the build- ing now. There are numerous fireproof stair- ways inside the building, and in the event all exits were cut off within, ladders could be run to the roof in a short space of time. The dan- ger of fire at the White House is believed to be negligible, now that steel and masonry have been substituted for the tinderlike construction formerly in the third story and roof. Gther objects on the old roof which are ab- sent now are the two collapsible flagstaffs and the screened sleeping cottage. The flagstaffs, hinged at the base so they could be raised or lowered at will, were relics of the World War. They were placed on the roof to accommodate flags of the allies. After the war there was no further use for them. The cottage was for servants’ use in hot weather. Full use of the third story was provided by the reconstruction work. Once the “attic,” in which were stored dusty records, household paraphernalia, trunks and other miscellany, the third floor now consists of a group of liv- able, elongated rooms, available for use of servants and overflow presidential guests, THE roofs of the main building and of the east wing have been transformed into promenades—a feature which must have had an immediate appeal to Mrs. Hoover. The First Lady has a weakness for terraces. In designing her magnificent Pueblo-type home in Palo Alto, she saw to it that the roof of each wing and addition was made into a delightful, airy terrace. Every bedroom opens onto one of these attractive terraces, and on them she has held many of her informal teas for her Stanford neighbors. Such a terrace, embellished with stone benches, now extends over the east wing of the White House. On the lawn, next to this wing, Mrs. Hoover is having a California-style gar- den constructed. Flagstones, porch tables and chairs will contribute to the coziness of this retreat. The balustraded roof of the main building affords the White House occupants a marvel- ous view of Potomac Park and the river. It is certain that they will make good use of these open promenades on warm Summer evenings, just as they would in their home on San Juan Hill, at the other side of the continent. Unappreciative of the privileges extended them in the past, the White House pets have found they no longer may howl boncath the presidential windows at night. The President is having the kennels removed from the sonth portico basement to the east grounds. The