Blair House
Blair House, also known as The President's Guest House, is an official residence in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The President's Guest House has been called "the world's most exclusive hotel" because it is primarily used as a state guest house to host visiting dignitaries and other guests of the president. Parts of the historic complex have been used for an official residence since the 1940s.
| Blair House The President's Guest House | |
|---|---|
The President's Guest House pictured in 2007. | |
Blair House Location of the President's Guest House in Washington, D.C. | |
| Alternative names | Blair House |
| General information | |
| Type | Official residence |
| Architectural style | Federal (Blair House and Lee House) Victorian (Peter Parker House and 704 Jackson Place) |
| Address | 1651 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. |
| Town or city | Washington, D.C. |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 38°53′56.5″N 77°2′18.9″W |
| Construction started | 1824 |
| Completed | 1989 |
| Owner | United States |
| Landlord | Chief of Protocol of the United States |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Brick and stucco |
| Floor count | 4 |
| Floor area | 70,000 sq ft (6,500 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Mendel, Mesick, Cohen, Waite, Hall Architects (1982 merger of four existing structures) |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 119 |
| Website | |
| www | |
Located just across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, it is a complex of four formerly separate homes—Blair House, Lee House, Peter Parker House, and 704 Jackson Place. Major renovations of these 19th-century residences between the 1950s and 1980s joined the homes together. It now has 14 guest bedrooms and at 70,000 square feet (6,500 m2) is larger than the executive residence of the White House. Blair House is one of several residences owned by the United States government for use by the president and vice president of the United States; other such residences include the White House, Camp David, One Observatory Circle, the Presidential Townhouse, and Trowbridge House.
President Harry S. Truman and his family lived in the original Blair House from late November 1948, to March 27, 1952, during the White House Reconstruction. Truman survived a 1950 assassination attempt at Blair House. It is one of only five houses to serve as the presidential residence in the history of the United States, and one of only three (along with the White House and The Octagon House) that still stand.