Mention 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and most Americans (at least those who paid attention in school) will know who lives there.
That, of course, is the Washington address for the White House, the nation's most famous residence and, as PBS puts it, "an icon of democracy." The story of the White House is the story of America itself.
Viewers will gain insider access to the public and private rooms in White House: Inside Story, a two-hour special airing at 7 p.m. Tuesday on AETN.
It's been 50 years since I took the White House tour on a church trip. How long ago was that? Lyndon Johnson was president and it was the weekend (Aug. 6, 1966) that LBJ's daughter, Luci Baines Johnson, got hitched to Pat Nugent. I remember because I had hiked up the Washington Monument just to view the White House, and one of the TV camera positions took up that small window, and I didn't get to look out.
More than 55 million watched the ceremony on TV. I hardly recall any of it, or the White House tour, so I'll be watching with special interest. Viewers also won't have to hike all that way up to get a nifty aerial view of the grounds.
A lot has happened at "the People's House" since 1966, and The White House: Inside Story will reveal much of it with "an intimate behind-the-scenes historical tour told through first-person stories."
Not only will the documentary present historians, former White House employees and first families, but it also includes a rare informal interview with President Barack Obama inside the Oval Office.
"I remember walking into the White House the first day," Obama says, "and remember thinking, 'OK, here we go.' If you're not humbled by that, you're probably not thinking straight."
Also featured in new interviews and archival footage are first ladies Rosalynn Carter, Barbara Bush and Laura Bush, who reminisce about their families' place in the 224-year history of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. These stories are interwoven with historical facts.
Carter says that thinking about the history of the place "gives [her] chills." And Barbara Bush recalls, "You can feel history and hope you can live up to it."
Michelle Obama, who recently made reference to waking up in "a house built by slaves," reveals that "the White House is a fabulously magical place to live that's not difficult to make a home."
She adds, "I had a moment to take in the fact that I was now living in the White House with my two young daughters and the president of the United States, who happened to be my husband. That's when it hits you -- the sense of history and responsibility just wafts over you."
Of special interest will be an interview with former chief usher Gary Walters, who was in the White House for seven transitions. He reveals for the first time what it was like on the morning of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Walters was preparing a luncheon for the entire Congress and members' families on the White House lawn that morning when the Secret Service issued orders to evacuate the mansion. Walters decided to remain behind and dismantle the outdoor luncheon space, thus freeing up the lawn to allow the president's helicopter to land.
He then went on to prepare the Oval Office for President George W. Bush to address the nation later that day.
"One of the things that I turned to in my own mind on 9/11," Walters says, "was the role that the White House plays in disasters and wars. People have a tendency to turn to the White House as a symbol of our American heritage."
The special points out that this is not like any other home. It's a workplace and a showplace, a private home, a command center and a national symbol -- a place where history is made every single day.
BY THE NUMBERS
232,372: The cost in dollars to build the White House.
1792: The year the White House was commissioned by President George Washington. John Adams was the first to live there in 1800. It was unfinished.
6: The number of levels -- two basements, two public floors, two private for the first family. There are 142 rooms, 32 bathrooms, 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, eight staircases and three elevators.
55,000: Approximate square feet.
6,000: Number of visitors each day.
1901: The year Teddy Roosevelt gave the White House its official name. Earlier names were President's Palace, President's House and the Executive Mansion.
570: The number of gallons of paint required to cover the outside.
1814: The year the British burned the place to a shell. It took three years to rebuild.
1952: The year President Harry Truman moved back in after a major renovation had taken the building down to the outer walls.
Style on 07/10/2016