The White House Basement is the basement

Basement

__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...

 of the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

, the Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

residence

Official residence

An official residence is the residence at which heads of state, heads of government, gubernatorial or other senior figures officially reside...

 and workplace of the President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

. It is located under the North Portico

North Lawn (White House)

The North Lawn at the White House in Washington, DC, is bordered on the north by Pennsylvania Avenue with a wide view of the mansion, and is screened by dense plantings on the east from East Executive Drive and the Treasury Building, and on the west from West Executive Drive and the Old Executive...

 and includes the White House carpenters'

Carpentry

A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....

 shop, engineers' shop, flower shop

White House Chief Floral Designer

The White House Chief Floral Designer is responsible for the planning, design, arrangement and placement of all floral decorations for the First Family, their private entertaining, and official state functions at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the President of...

, and dentist

Dentist

A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...

 office, among other areas.

The White House Situation Room

White House Situation Room

The White House Situation Room is a conference room and intelligence management center in the basement of the West Wing of the White House. It is run by the National Security Council staff for the use of the President of the United States and his advisors to monitor and deal...

 is located in the basement beneath the West Wing

West Wing

The West Wing is the building housing the official offices of the President of the United States. It is the part of the White House Complex in which the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, the Situation Room, and the Roosevelt Room are located...

.

History

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, a bomb shelter

Air-raid shelter

Air-raid shelters, also known as bomb shelters, are structures for the protection of the civil population as well as military personnel against enemy attacks from the air...

 was constructed under the East Wing, later converted into the Presidential Emergency Operations Center

Presidential Emergency Operations Center

The President's Emergency Operations Center is a structure that lies beneath the East Wing of the White House in the United States. Originally constructed for President Franklin D...

.

The sub-basement was added during the reconstruction of the White House under Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

. It contains storage space, the laundry

Laundry

Laundry is a noun that refers to the act of washing clothing and linens, the place where that washing is done, and/or that which needs to be, is being, or has been laundered...

, elevator

Elevator

An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...

 control machinery, the water softener

Water softening

Water softening is the reduction of the concentration of calcium, magnesium, and certain other metal cations in hard water. These "hardness ions" can cause a variety of undesired effects including interfering with the action of soaps, the build up of limescale, which can foul plumbing, and...

, and incinerator

Incineration

Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of organic substances contained in waste materials. Incineration and other high temperature waste treatment systems are described as "thermal treatment". Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into ash, flue gas, and...

, as well as dressing rooms for White House performers.

Dwight Eisenhower made the first White House television broadcast from a special room in the basement in 1953, though the "broadcast room" was soon divided for other purposes.

A bowling alley

Bowling

Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...

 was added by Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

 in 1969.

After the Recording Industry Association of America

Recording Industry Association of America

The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...

 suggested that the White House Library

Library (White House)

The White House Library is located on the Ground Floor of the White House, the official home of the President of the United States. The room is approximately 27 by 23 feet and is located in the northwest of the ground floor. The Library is used for teas and meetings by the President and First Lady...

 should be expanded to include sound recordings, that trade group donated over 2200 LPs

LP album

The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...

 during the Nixon and Carter administrations; when Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

took office, the collection was moved to the White House basement, where it is still located.

Further reading

• Seale, William. The President's House. Washington, D.C.: White House Historical Association, 1987.

External links

• Basement and Sub-basement from whitehousemuseum.org, an unofficial website about the White House