Caroline Harrison, wife of President Benjamin Harrison, who took office in 1889 inherited a White House that was falling down around her. She was shocked at the wretched condition of the building and the inadequacy of the space. Accompanying the Harrisons to reside in the White House was their daughter and her husband, three lively little grandchildren, a young widowed niece and Caroline's 90-year old father. Privacy was unknown.
So Caroline set about to build a new White House with proper accommodations for the first family and guests. An architect was engaged. He prepared a model, which was dubbed "Mrs. Harrison's place." But the historical advocates opposed the plan. They said to build a new White House would be like abandoning an historic landmark. Congress failed to come up with the money and the plan died.
Caroline was disappointed, but when Congress came up with $35,000 to fix up the old White House, she excitedly started the project and completely refurbished the old house. In the 1940's Bess Truman had to move her family out of the White House while it was completely gutted and rebuilt from the inside out. Her daughter's piano was seen to lean severely to one side where a leg was about to poke through the floor to the room below. Later, Jackie Kennedy redid the house with furnishings either from the early administrations or nearly like them.
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