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Opening of the White House
“The stone masons of Scotland today are the legacy of great craftsmen from the 18th century who came to Washington and created the beautiful carvings that we still see on the White House. The Double Scottish Rose that we see on every pilaster is a Scots wink from those stonemasons…”
~ Stewart McLaurin (President, White House Historical Association) on the Double Scottish Rose (2018)
James Hoban’s 1792 neoclassical design, inspired by Georgian symmetry, has weathered fire, reconstruction, expansion, and modernization. From its rebirth after the War of 1812 to Theodore Roosevelt’s streamlined renovation and Harry Truman’s complete structural overhaul, the White House has proven both adaptable and enduring—its original sandstone frame now reinforced with steel to meet the needs of a modern presidency.
Over time, the balance between public funding and private patronage has shaped its transformation. Congress typically handled the bones and beams, while First Families and private donors have tended to its interior life. Jacqueline Kennedy’s 1961 restoration, financed largely through private support, sparked the creation of the White House Historical Association—a bridge between stewardship and style. Each generation since has added its own layer of vision and care to this national symbol.
That tradition continues today with plans for a new 90,000-square-foot ballroom near the East Wing—one of the most ambitious additions in decades. Entirely funded by private donors and projected to exceed $200 million, the project carries Hoban’s neoclassical ideals into a new era of grandeur, history and patronage once again.
The White House Historical Association tartan, designed in 2019, paid tribute to the Scottish stonemasons whose craftsmanship helped raise the Executive Mansion. Its colors echo key chapters of the house’s interior story: blue for the Bellangé furniture of the Blue Room installed in 1817 under President James Monroe; green for the Green Room he decorated the following year; red for the luxurious silks of the Red Room furnished during James Polk’s 1845 administration; grey for the Scottish stonework and its “Double Scottish Rose”; and white, of course, for the White House itself..💙 ❤️ 🤍 💚 🌹 🌹 🏴 🇺🇸
Taken from The George Washington Masonic Memorial Freemason's White House Stones Exhibit by Sir Knight Mark A. Tabbert:
The George Washington Masonic Memorial opened a new exhibit in February featuring forty-five historic White House stones. Each stone is marked by a Scottish stonemason who helped build the White House. The stones are reassembled for the first time since President Harry S. Truman sent one to every United States Masonic Grand Lodge in 1952. Complementing the stones is a minute book from The Lodge of Journeymen Masons No. 8 of Edinburgh, Scotland. It lists members of the lodge who, in 1794, immigrated to help build the White House. Accompanying the minute book is the lodge's mark book, showing each stonemason's trade mark. By comparing these marks to the marks on the stones, visitors may identify the men who helped to build the President's House. The exhibit opened in conjunction with the Memorial Association's 100th Anniversary and will run through May 2011.
In 1789, president George Washington and the United States Congress were determined to build a great capital city. By 1792 the site was chosen, designer Pierre L'Enfant's street plan was adopted, and work began. At the city's center would be the United States Capitol, the "People's House." The President's House would be located on Pennsylvania Avenue. Washington reviewed the site and personally selected architect James Hoban's design. The mansion's cornerstone was laid with a small civic and Masonic ceremony on October 13, 1792.
Although foundation work then began in earnest, the government soon discovered that the young nation had an abundance of craftsmen but few master stonemasons. What's more, those it did have were working on the United States Capitol. After a thorough search in America and Europe, agent George Walker traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland. By spring 1794 he had recruited at least eight stonemasons from The Lodge of Journeymen Masons No. 8.
With the arrival of the eight Scots stonemasons, the White House walls rose to completion in 1798. During construction, the stonemasons, being Freemasons, joined the local lodge. Federal Lodge No. 15 had been chartered September 12, 1793 by the Grand Lodge of Maryland. James Hoban was its first Worshipful Master. Federal Lodge became the first lodge when the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia was constituted in 1811. The exhibit also includes Federal Lodge's first account book listing the Scots stonemasons and White House architect James Hoban as its first Master. Additional materials include a letter from President Truman, historic photographs, and other items.
The White House stones were discovered soon after Truman became president in 1945. With major plaster cracks appearing and a piano dropping nearly through the floor, it was obvious that the executive mansion needed a complete overhaul. The First Family relocated to Blair House as work began. By 1950, only the White House facade and some of the original foundation stones remained. President Truman inspected the work often, and during one tour he noticed a large number of stones engraved with mason's marks. Recognizing that they were made by Scottish stonemasons, he contacted the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia and had more than 100 of them delivered to the Grand Lodge headquarters on New York Avenue-just three blocks away.
The White House Historical Association tartan was created to promote the history of the Scottish stone masons who were instrumental in the building of the White House. Each color represents a key aspect of the White House: blue symbolises the Bellange furniture of the Blue Room, decorated in 1817 during the James Monroe presidency; green represents the Green Room, decorated in 1818 by James Monroe; red symbolises the Red Room, which was furnished with bold red silks during the James Polk administration in 1845; Grey represents the Scottish stone works, including the famous "Double Scottish Rose" that adorns the White House and white represents the White House as a whole.
For more on the Scottish Double Rose motif, click the White House.