White House Brick

The White House Brick was first introduced in the Fourth Edition of the Mini Museum. We are proud to offer it once again as a stand-alone specimen! Above: Front of the Specimen Card Since John Adams took up residence on November 1st, 1800, every U.S. President has called the White House home. Not surprisingly, each resident has endeavored to leave their mark, but then change is the guiding principle at the heart of the design suggested by George Washington, the one President who never lived in the Executive Mansion yet was so intimately involved in its creation. The specimen in the Mini Museum is a fragment from a brick recovered during the 1948-1952 renovation and expansion of the White House. The project is sometimes referred to as a reconstruction rather than a renovation as the venerable structure was gutted from within and refitted with a steel superstructure. Above: Scenes from the 1950 "Truman Renovation - See the extended text below for even more pictures. This process generated an enormous amount of salvage material, some of which was used as landfill, but more attractive items became part of a popular public souvenir program designated by the Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion. Above: Close-up of a White House brick with the official seal, one of several in our collection. Originally, part of the Fourth Edition of the Mini Museum we are proud to offer it once more as a stand-alone item. Each hand-cut brick fragment is encased inside an acrylic specimen jar and presented in one of our classic, glass-topped riker display boxes. The size and shape of each specimen varies, but on average they measure 1 x 0.5 x 0.5 centimeters. The riker display box measures 4 1/2" x 3 1/2". A small information card is also included, which serves as the certificate of authenticity.