And if history is an indicator, she and Emhoff will put their own mark on the house. On Wednesday, Harris will become the first woman, first Black person, and first person of Asian descent to be sworn in as the vice president of the United States. How will the home change under Harris and Emhoff? In 2017, Karen Pence unveiled a beehive at the residence. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, have hosted many private dinners with donors and corporate executives but have made minimal changes to the home, Denyer said. His successor, Dan Quayle, installed a swimming pool, which years later received praise from Vice President Joe Biden. Bush, who was vice president from 1981 to 1989, built a horseshoe pit and a quarter-mile track on the property. The Navy still maintains the home, Denyer said, while the Vice President’s Residence Foundation raises private funds for any redecorating or upgrades to the home.Įach vice president and his family have contributed to the evolution of the home, Purdy said, noting that George H.W. Carter involved him in almost everything.” “Vice President Mondale became probably the most consequential vice president ever to that date. “Ironically and in parallel as the office of the vice presidency has grown in importance over the years, particularly with the election of Vice President Walter Mondale in 1976, the home has grown considerably also in terms of amenities and security upgrades,” Denyer said. Under President Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale was the first vice president to live in the home, starting in 1977. Ford acceded to the presidency before he could use it, and his own vice president, Nelson Rockefeller, had his own home, using Number One Observatory Circle only as an entertaining space. Walter Mondale was the first vice president to live there.Īfter the home’s official designation in 1974, another three years went by before a vice president moved in, according to the White House. “It’s kind of a shame that we waited as long we did to give the vice president a home of their own,” said Mike Purdy, a presidential historian and author of “101 Presidential Insults.” “But in some ways that is reflective of the insignificant role of the vice presidency as it was seen for so many years.” At the time, lawmakers approved $315,000 for repairs, renovations and some furnishings. (The “temporary” designation still remains.) It was the first time in history that a home was provided for the second in command. Agnew’s home in Maryland among others - Congress designated Number One Observatory Circle as “the official temporary residence” of the vice president in 1974. At the time, Vice President Hubert Humphrey was living in his own home in Chevy Chase, Maryland.Īfter years of spending thousands on security measures at the private homes of vice presidents - $81,000 for Gerald Ford’s home in Virginia and $245,000 on Spiro T. Johnson postponed the construction until economic conditions improved, but the house was never built. In March 1966, the House Public Works Committee approved the construction of a three-story mansion for $750,000 on the grounds of the Naval Observatory for the vice president. When did the house become the official residence for vice presidents?
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