Existing comment:
Design for the President's House, Elevation.
James Hoban, 1793.
While Hoban's original winning design has not survived, this version from October 1793 captures what was built, with changes made after President Washington increased its size and added more decoration. Among the final innovations, were two-story Ionic columns, a door pediment with an eagle in high relief, and window pediments alternating between triangles and semi-circles. (The eagle was later omitted.) Hoban's fashionable Italian Renaissance mansion mixed design elements from a range of styles and locations. |