WEBVTT - Where Does the Vice President Live?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of I Heart Radio. Hey Brainstuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren fog Obam here. Most people probably know that the

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<v Speaker 1>United States President lives and works in the White House

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<v Speaker 1>at Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, d C. It's one of

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<v Speaker 1>the most famous homes on the planet and a symbol

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<v Speaker 1>of the power and prestige of the presidency. But what

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<v Speaker 1>about the Vice president, the second in the line of

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<v Speaker 1>succession to the nation's highest office. It's a post that's

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<v Speaker 1>become increasingly important as a source of policy advice and

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<v Speaker 1>legislative lobbying muscle in presidential administrations. But does it come

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<v Speaker 1>with an official residence as well? The answer is yes.

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<v Speaker 1>Since the mid nineteen seventies, the Vice president has had

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<v Speaker 1>a mansion of his and now her own as well,

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<v Speaker 1>and though it's not as well known as the White House,

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<v Speaker 1>it's pretty fancy and historic in its own right. The

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<v Speaker 1>Vice President's resident is located on the grounds of the

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<v Speaker 1>United States Naval Observatory, about two and a half miles

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<v Speaker 1>or four kilometers northwest of the White House. It doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>have a similarly iconic name, and is often referred to

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<v Speaker 1>prosaically as the VPR or by using its address Number

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<v Speaker 1>one Observatory Circle. We spoke with Kyle Copco, an adjunct

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<v Speaker 1>professor of political science at Elizabethtown College and the author

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<v Speaker 1>of two books on vice presidential candidates. He explained it's

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<v Speaker 1>probably due to the fact that a catchy name simply

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<v Speaker 1>didn't develop. The White House wasn't originally called that it

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<v Speaker 1>developed over time. Originally, the White House was called the

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<v Speaker 1>Executive Mansion, or President's Mansion, or various generic combinations throughout history.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, the Presidential Mansion wasn't officially named the White

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<v Speaker 1>House until nineteen o one. But don't let the nondescript

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<v Speaker 1>nomenclature fool you. Number one Observatory Circle, built in three

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<v Speaker 1>is an ornate, three story Queen Anne style brick Victorian

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<v Speaker 1>home with nine thousand one square feet that's eight hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and fifty square meters of interior space. A Cupco said,

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<v Speaker 1>the demands of the vice presidency and the need for

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<v Speaker 1>security necessitate a government owned house for the vice president

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<v Speaker 1>and the second family. The establishment of an official vice

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<v Speaker 1>presidential residence also coincides with the rise of the offices

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<v Speaker 1>informal power. Historically, the office of the vice president was

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<v Speaker 1>not very powerful, and the vice president mainly assumed ceremonial duties.

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<v Speaker 1>However that changed over time. Vice presidents now play significant

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<v Speaker 1>advisory roles overseas policy and assume a variety of responsibilities

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<v Speaker 1>on behalf of the President. Designed by Washington architect Leon E.

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<v Speaker 1>Disays and built by Philadelphia based construction firm, the house

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<v Speaker 1>originally was intended to serve as the home of the

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<v Speaker 1>superintendent of the Naval Observatory. According to book by Gail S. Clear,

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<v Speaker 1>called the House on Observatory Hill Home of the Vice

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<v Speaker 1>President of the United States. The home was meant to

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<v Speaker 1>be quote a gracious country house after the style of

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<v Speaker 1>the time. The ground floor consists of a reception hall,

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<v Speaker 1>living room, sitting room, sun porch, dining room, and pantry,

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<v Speaker 1>plus offices that were added on to the homes north side.

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<v Speaker 1>The second floor contains two bedrooms, a study, and a den,

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<v Speaker 1>while the third floor has four more rooms which originally

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<v Speaker 1>served as servants quarters and storage areas. In the basement,

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<v Speaker 1>there's a kitchen, laundry room, and more storage. A dozen

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<v Speaker 1>observatory superintendents lived in the house from eight to ninety seven,

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<v Speaker 1>but the mansion was coveted by various officers who held

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<v Speaker 1>the post of Chief of Naval Operations, and in Congress

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<v Speaker 1>finally passed a law giving it to the Cieno at

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<v Speaker 1>the time when Admiral Charles Frederick Hughes, known as Handlebars

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<v Speaker 1>because of his lush mustache, he moved into the House

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<v Speaker 1>the following year. Vice presidents mostly either resided in their

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<v Speaker 1>own homes, or, as Calvin Coolidge did during the Warring

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<v Speaker 1>Gy Harding administration, lived in hotels. Coolidge, who became president

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<v Speaker 1>after Harding's death in n may have been the first

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<v Speaker 1>to advocate the notion of giving the vice president an

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<v Speaker 1>official home in keeping with the dignity of the position.

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<v Speaker 1>Coolidge wrote in his memoirs, the Great Office should have

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<v Speaker 1>a settled and permanent habitation, and a place irrespective of

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<v Speaker 1>the financial ability of its temporary occupant. By the mid

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen sixties, the expense of outfitting vice presidential residences with

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<v Speaker 1>adequate security and communications equipment prompted Congress to pass a

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<v Speaker 1>bill authorizing construction of a new home for the Vice

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<v Speaker 1>President on a portion of the Naval Observatory grounds at

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<v Speaker 1>the cost of seven and fifty thousand dollars, which would

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<v Speaker 1>be about six million in today's money, but as the

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<v Speaker 1>cost of the Vietnam War escalated, then Vice President Hubert

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<v Speaker 1>Humphrey asked that project be delayed as quote an example

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<v Speaker 1>of prudent budget practices, and the new house was never built. Meanwhile,

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<v Speaker 1>the government continued to spend a fortune outfitting vice presidential residences.

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<v Speaker 1>After Richard Nixon picked Gerald R. Ford to replace Spireau

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<v Speaker 1>Agnew as vice president. When Agnew resigned in nineteen seventy three,

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<v Speaker 1>construction workers descended upon Ford's home in Alexandria, Virginia to

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<v Speaker 1>make extensive modifications, including installation of bullet resistant windows. Those

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<v Speaker 1>retrofits were only needed for nine months because Ford eventually

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<v Speaker 1>replaced Nixon as president. Eventually, as Clear's book notes, Congress

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<v Speaker 1>decided that what was at the time called the Admiral

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<v Speaker 1>House presented a cheaper alternative. In four Congress passed legislation

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<v Speaker 1>that took Number one Observatory Circle away from the Ciano

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<v Speaker 1>and made it the vice presidential residence. The Ciano was

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<v Speaker 1>relocated to Tigney House, a nineteen o four Georgian style

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<v Speaker 1>mansion that stands in the Washington Navy Yard, but the

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<v Speaker 1>transition didn't occur right away. Vice President Nelson Rockefeller never

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<v Speaker 1>actually moved into Number one Observatory Circle, though he did

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<v Speaker 1>use it for official events. Walter Mondale, who moved into

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<v Speaker 1>the mansion in nineteen seventy seven, was its first vice

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<v Speaker 1>presidential occupant. Over the years, various modifications have been made

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<v Speaker 1>to the vice presidential residence. Dan Quayle, who served as

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<v Speaker 1>vice president during the George H. W. Bush administration, added

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<v Speaker 1>a swimming pool. Karen Pence, the wife of Donald Trump's

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<v Speaker 1>Vice president Mike Pence, added a beehive as a reminder

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<v Speaker 1>of bees important role in agriculture. After Kamala Harris was

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<v Speaker 1>sworn in as Vice President of the United States in

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<v Speaker 1>January one, she and her husband, Doug Emhoff didn't immediately

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<v Speaker 1>move in. Instead, they temporarily took up residence in Blair House,

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<v Speaker 1>the presidential guest residence at sixteen fifty one Pennsylvania Avenue

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<v Speaker 1>near the White House, so that repairs and maintenance could

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<v Speaker 1>be completed. Today's episode was written by Patrick J. Haiger

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<v Speaker 1>and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and

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<v Speaker 1>lots of other curious topics, visit hous to works dot com.

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