h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Can anybody help me with this?

Gedge

Maybe simply for the sake of efficiency: they give 'er another coat every time they 'whitewash' something and it always has a fresh finish...
PLT, Mick

I don't know.

Maybe it has something to do with the all American dream. Purity and all that. It also stand out being so white at the end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

In 1791 a public competition was held to choose the most suitable design for a presidential residence in the newly designated capital city of Washington. Thomas Jefferson and others submitted drawings, but the Irish-American architect James Hoban of Philadelphia won the commission (and a $500 prize) with his plan for a Georgian mansion in the Palladian style. This structure was to have three floors and more than 100 rooms, and would be built in pale grey sandstone. By 1809 it was already called the "White House" because its white-grey sandstone contrasted strikingly with the red brick of nearby buildings.

-- Encyclopaedia Britannica

My note: The comparison with other Georgian mansions is significant. This type of architecture was favored by plantation owners (like Thomas Jefferson) during America's colonial period. The style is based loosely on ancient Greek architecture, and most such buildings include classic columns. The Greeks used white marble for their most affluent buildings, and so Georgian mansions were usually whitewashed in an attempt to immitate that appearance.

During the war of 1812 with the British. The Royal Marines seized Washington. an American force was despached to repel the British marines but the British set fire to the whole of Washington and retreated before any action,however not to demoralise the American force the local population painted it white to hide the scorch marks.

Ironically Parliament Buildings in Stormont, Belfast which is also white and stands on a hill, was painted black in WWII so it didn't stand out on bombing raids.

Maybee it has something to do with a certain interns personal "tastes"

so should it not be orange one side and green the other then,stormont that is not the whitehouse.

Depneds who gets to paint it first. As it is in a loyalist area more likely to be Red and Blue.

One of the reasons why Washington in general is white is that the American war of Independence was linked to the European enlightenment, which looked to Greece for inspiration. For instance the Capitol has a dome surrounded by classic columns, the whole thing looking as if it was made from marble.

I don't know what it's made from, actually. Can anyone help?

It's white because if it had been painted green with purple dots and yellow lines, it'd look very stupid indeed.

It's true the American founding fathers likened the colonies to the Greek citystates, and so comparisons with ancient Greece were often made during America's early days.

And yes, there were restrictions on color because the White House was primarily meant as a place for diplomatic negotiations with other countries. Colors which might be perceived as tacky or low-class would be unacceptable.

So there are several reasons why the White House is white. Take your pick.

Well I don't really have an answer to that question.

My uncle proposed that if he were elected president he would paint the white house green and open branch offices.

It is true that the Founders looked to Greece, but more specifically to Athens, for the inspiration for their government. Athens had the first government by the consent of the citizens, or "demos" - this is where the term Democracy originated. Along with the governmental model of Athens, they also turned to the Athenian works of Plato and Aristotle. They also stole a few ideas from the old Roman Republic, as it existed before the triumvirs and the eventual rise of the first Roman emperor. Rome liked classic Greek architecture every bit as much as the first Americans did.

Or .........

as Spike Milligan, alluding to Nelson's Column, pointed out:

"It's due to pigeons that alight
on Nelson's head that make it white."

How is the US fixed for pigeons?
Not Passenger Pigeons, obviously. That matter was resolved long since.