The massive propeller slows as the wheels of Marine One settle onto the thick green carpet of the South Lawn.

A Marine Guard opens the copter door and lowers the steps, then stands back at attention.

Ahead of him, across the manicured expanse, is the executive residence and workplace,

uniform white, gleaming in the late day sun.

The press pool crowds their rope loaded with questions.

Security personnel take up their positions.

Workers on the grounds halt their labors.

Inside the building, according to precise schedule, staffers prepare

for the political briefings that still remain on the day's docket. It is the close of another

day at the White House, here at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

All seems perfectly normal and orderly,

but as everyone is poised for a glimpse of the President,

appearances can be deceiving. Thank you for joining us on this episode of American History Hit.

I'm Don Wildman and today we discuss a building, one that has proudly stood at the center of

American political life since the earliest days of the republic,

serving as the official residence and workplace of the President of the United States,

the White House, of course, which is a rare structure for its design and construction, its

reconstruction, its renovations, but more so for its unusual duality as both the office and the

home of the chief executive.

Simultaneously, the seat of the most powerful person in the world,

while it is also where that person sleeps, wakes up, dresses and heads off to work

in the same building. This combination of

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