Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of I Heart Radio. Hey Brainstuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren fog Obam here. Most people probably know that the
Speaker 1: United States President lives and works in the White House
Speaker 1: at Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, d C. It's one of
Speaker 1: the most famous homes on the planet and a symbol
Speaker 1: of the power and prestige of the presidency. But what
Speaker 1: about the Vice president, the second in the line of
Speaker 1: succession to the nation's highest office. It's a post that's
Speaker 1: become increasingly important as a source of policy advice and
Speaker 1: legislative lobbying muscle in presidential administrations. But does it come
Speaker 1: with an official residence as well? The answer is yes.
Speaker 1: Since the mid nineteen seventies, the Vice president has had
Speaker 1: a mansion of his and now her own as well,
Speaker 1: and though it's not as well known as the White House,
Speaker 1: it's pretty fancy and historic in its own right. The
Speaker 1: Vice President's resident is located on the grounds of the
Speaker 1: United States Naval Observatory, about two and a half miles
Speaker 1: or four kilometers northwest of the White House. It doesn't
Speaker 1: have a similarly iconic name, and is often referred to
Speaker 1: prosaically as the VPR or by using its address Number
Speaker 1: one Observatory Circle. We spoke with Kyle Copco, an adjunct
Speaker 1: professor of political science at Elizabethtown College and the author
Speaker 1: of two books on vice presidential candidates. He explained it's
Speaker 1: probably due to the fact that a catchy name simply
Speaker 1: didn't develop. The White House wasn't originally called that it
Speaker 1: developed over time. Originally, the White House was called the
Speaker 1: Executive Mansion, or President's Mansion, or various generic combinations throughout history.
Speaker 1: In fact, the Presidential Mansion wasn't officially named the White
Speaker 1: House until nineteen o one. But don't let the nondescript
Speaker 1: nomenclature fool you. Number one Observatory Circle, built in three
Speaker 1: is an ornate, three story Queen Anne style brick Victorian
Speaker 1: home with nine thousand one square feet that's eight hundred
Speaker 1: and fifty square meters of interior space. A Cupco said,
Speaker 1: the demands of the vice presidency and the need for
Speaker 1: security necessitate a government owned house for the vice president
Speaker 1: and the second family. The establishment of an official vice
Speaker 1: presidential residence also coincides with the rise of the offices
Speaker 1: informal power. Historically, the office of the vice president was
Speaker 1: not very powerful, and the vice president mainly assumed ceremonial duties.
Speaker 1: However that changed over time. Vice presidents now play significant
Speaker 1: advisory roles overseas policy and assume a variety of responsibilities
Speaker 1: on behalf of the President. Designed by Washington architect Leon E.
Speaker 1: Disays and built by Philadelphia based construction firm, the house
Speaker 1: originally was intended to serve as the home of the
Speaker 1: superintendent of the Naval Observatory. According to book by Gail S. Clear,
Speaker 1: called the House on Observatory Hill Home of the Vice
Speaker 1: President of the United States. The home was meant to
Speaker 1: be quote a gracious country house after the style of
Speaker 1: the time. The ground floor consists of a reception hall,
Speaker 1: living room, sitting room, sun porch, dining room, and pantry,
Speaker 1: plus offices that were added on to the homes north side.
Speaker 1: The second floor contains two bedrooms, a study, and a den,
Speaker 1: while the third floor has four more rooms which originally
Speaker 1: served as servants quarters and storage areas. In the basement,
Speaker 1: there's a kitchen, laundry room, and more storage. A dozen
Speaker 1: observatory superintendents lived in the house from eight to ninety seven,
Speaker 1: but the mansion was coveted by various officers who held
Speaker 1: the post of Chief of Naval Operations, and in Congress
Speaker 1: finally passed a law giving it to the Cieno at
Speaker 1: the time when Admiral Charles Frederick Hughes, known as Handlebars
Speaker 1: because of his lush mustache, he moved into the House
Speaker 1: the following year. Vice presidents mostly either resided in their
Speaker 1: own homes, or, as Calvin Coolidge did during the Warring
Speaker 1: Gy Harding administration, lived in hotels. Coolidge, who became president
Speaker 1: after Harding's death in n may have been the first
Speaker 1: to advocate the notion of giving the vice president an
Speaker 1: official home in keeping with the dignity of the position.
Speaker 1: Coolidge wrote in his memoirs, the Great Office should have
Speaker 1: a settled and permanent habitation, and a place irrespective of
Speaker 1: the financial ability of its temporary occupant. By the mid
Speaker 1: nineteen sixties, the expense of outfitting vice presidential residences with
Speaker 1: adequate security and communications equipment prompted Congress to pass a
Speaker 1: bill authorizing construction of a new home for the Vice
Speaker 1: President on a portion of the Naval Observatory grounds at
Speaker 1: the cost of seven and fifty thousand dollars, which would
Speaker 1: be about six million in today's money, but as the
Speaker 1: cost of the Vietnam War escalated, then Vice President Hubert
Speaker 1: Humphrey asked that project be delayed as quote an example
Speaker 1: of prudent budget practices, and the new house was never built. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: the government continued to spend a fortune outfitting vice presidential residences.
Speaker 1: After Richard Nixon picked Gerald R. Ford to replace Spireau
Speaker 1: Agnew as vice president. When Agnew resigned in nineteen seventy three,
Speaker 1: construction workers descended upon Ford's home in Alexandria, Virginia to
Speaker 1: make extensive modifications, including installation of bullet resistant windows. Those
Speaker 1: retrofits were only needed for nine months because Ford eventually
Speaker 1: replaced Nixon as president. Eventually, as Clear's book notes, Congress
Speaker 1: decided that what was at the time called the Admiral
Speaker 1: House presented a cheaper alternative. In four Congress passed legislation
Speaker 1: that took Number one Observatory Circle away from the Ciano
Speaker 1: and made it the vice presidential residence. The Ciano was
Speaker 1: relocated to Tigney House, a nineteen o four Georgian style
Speaker 1: mansion that stands in the Washington Navy Yard, but the
Speaker 1: transition didn't occur right away. Vice President Nelson Rockefeller never
Speaker 1: actually moved into Number one Observatory Circle, though he did
Speaker 1: use it for official events. Walter Mondale, who moved into
Speaker 1: the mansion in nineteen seventy seven, was its first vice
Speaker 1: presidential occupant. Over the years, various modifications have been made
Speaker 1: to the vice presidential residence. Dan Quayle, who served as
Speaker 1: vice president during the George H. W. Bush administration, added
Speaker 1: a swimming pool. Karen Pence, the wife of Donald Trump's
Speaker 1: Vice president Mike Pence, added a beehive as a reminder
Speaker 1: of bees important role in agriculture. After Kamala Harris was
Speaker 1: sworn in as Vice President of the United States in
Speaker 1: January one, she and her husband, Doug Emhoff didn't immediately
Speaker 1: move in. Instead, they temporarily took up residence in Blair House,
Speaker 1: the presidential guest residence at sixteen fifty one Pennsylvania Avenue
Speaker 1: near the White House, so that repairs and maintenance could
Speaker 1: be completed. Today's episode was written by Patrick J. Haiger
Speaker 1: and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and
Speaker 1: lots of other curious topics, visit hous to works dot com.
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