- In a recent town hall, President Joe Biden described the White House as a "gilded cage."
- Biden's new home consists of 132 rooms spread across three buildings.
- Here's a look inside the White House's most notable spaces.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Welcome to the White House, the most famous home in America where Joe Biden will live for the next four years.
It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Washington, DC, between the US Treasury and Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
He officially moved into the White House with his wife, Jill, and their two dogs, Major and Champ, on January 20.
In a recent CNN town hall, President Biden described his new home as "a gilded cage, in terms of being able to walk outside and do things."
Source: Insider
The massive building contains three connected but distinct sections: the East Wing, the West Wing, and the Executive Residence in the middle. Two colonnades run between them.
In total, the White House has 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 412 doors, and 28 fireplaces.
The six-story Executive Residence building is the White House's largest, consisting of two basement levels, a ground floor where building staff work, a state floor for events and receptions, and two floors where the first family lives and sleeps.
The oval-shaped Blue Room on the state floor is used by the president to formally receive guests. It boasts blue upholstery, blue curtains, and blue carpet and has stayed the same color since 1837.
To the left and right of the Blue Room are two parlors for entertaining. One, featuring bright red walls, is called the Red Room.
The other parlor, featuring green walls, is called the Green Room.
The East Room is the largest room in the Executive Residence. It is used for speeches, ceremonies, concerts, receptions, and dances.
The State Dining Room is where official meals, including state dinners, take place. It can seat as many as 140 guests.
The Lincoln Bedroom, containing furnishings from Abraham Lincoln's era, is one of several private living spaces reserved for the first family on the Executive Residence's top two floors.
The Yellow Oval Room, located above the Blue Room, acts as the first family's formal living room.
On the top floor is the solarium, nicknamed the 'sky parlor' by Former First Lady Grace Coolidge. It boasts floor-to-ceiling windows and opens up to a private balcony.
Throughout the home, there are several rooms for recreation. Beneath the North Portico in the Executive Residence basement is a one-lane bowling alley ...
... and a cinema room runs almost the full length of the East Colonnade. Here, presidents and their families can see any movie they want at any time of the day — even before they come out in theaters.
The East Wing is home to the offices of the White House private secretary, first lady, and their respective staff.
Though not recognized on any public White House map, there is a bunker below the East Wing where White House officials sheltered during 9/11. A second bunker is located beneath the North Lawn.
Source: Business Insider
It is also where public tours of the White House begin.
The West Wing is where the president's staff members work and contains some of the most notable rooms in the White House.
Among them is the Oval Office. It is the president's formal workspace, where he meets or takes calls with with heads of state, diplomats, and his staff.
The Oval Office is home to the famous Resolute Desk, which dates back to the 1800s and weighs over 1,000 pounds.
There are also several paintings, busts, and other decorations. Presidents decorate the office to their taste.
Right outside the Oval Office is the Rose Garden, used for special ceremonies and to greet distinguished guests.
The West Colonnade walkway, also referred to as the "45-second commute" by insiders, leads from the Oval Office to the Rose Garden and to the official residence.
The Cabinet Room is where the president meets with his ministers. It's customary for the president to sit near the center of the table.
In the basement is the Situation Room, a 5,000 square-foot complex where the president receives intelligence and crisis support. It is run by staff from the National Security Council.
A few rooms over, the US Navy operates a restaurant known as the Navy Mess and Ward Room.
One of the West Wing's most photographed rooms is the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room where the White House press secretary gives briefings to the news media.
The Roosevelt Room is often used to announce appointments and nominations of new staff members. It features paintings of both Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The office of the vice president is also located in the West Wing. Like the Oval Office, it consists of a desk and sitting area.
- Editor's note: This is an updated version of an article originally written by Amanda Macias.
- Read more:
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- Inside Blair House, the president's official guest house where Biden stayed the night before inauguration
- Bowling alleys, movie theaters, and swimming pools: 17 things first families have added to the White House
- A short history of the secret bunker underneath the White House
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