Q 01/05

What is the street address of the White House?

A) 1200 Independence Avenue SW

B) 1400 Constitution Avenue NW

C) 1800 K Street NW

D) 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Answer · why

D) 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The avenue was laid out to link the president's house with the Capitol, which is why newly sworn-in presidents traditiona...

Q 02/05

Who was the first president to live in the White House?

A) Martin Van Buren

B) James Monroe

C) Thomas Jefferson

D) John Adams

Answer · why

D) John Adams

John Adams moved in on November 1, 1800, and the next day wrote a blessing on the house that was later carved into one of its mantels.

Q 03/05

For the ten years before the White House was ready, the president lived in a mansion in which city?

A) Philadelphia

B) New York

C) Baltimore

D) Richmond

Answer · why

A) Philadelphia

Philadelphia was the temporary capital from 1790 to 1800 while the new federal city on the Potomac was being built.

Q 04/05

Which president first opened the White House to public tours?

A) James Madison

B) Thomas Jefferson

C) James Monroe

D) Andrew Jackson

Answer · why

B) Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson. After his second inauguration in March 1805 much of the crowd followed him home from the Capitol, and he received them in the oval r...

Q 05/05

Why was the White House first coated in whitewash in 1798?

A) To protect the stone from frost

B) To hide fire damage

C) To reflect the summer heat

D) To match the Capitol's marble

Answer · why

A) To protect the stone from frost

To protect the stone from frost: the porous walls soaked up water, so a lime whitewash sealed them. The story that white paint hid scorch marks left b...