Honoring the Man Who Designed the White House

The neglected and forgotten grave of the man who designed and built our new nation’s President’s House has been saved from obscurity and neglect – thanks to a rescue effort and innovative partnership begun by the DAR. I was immensely privileged to join His Excellency Daniel Mulhall, Ambassador of Ireland to the USA; His Excellency Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio of the USA; President of the White House Historical Association Stewart D. McLaurin; D.C. DAR State Regent Cindy Hays and about 25 community leaders to honor the life of James Hoban, the Irish-born designer and builder of the White House on Tuesday, March 16, at his newly restored resting placed. View my remarks from the ceremony here.

It was altogether fitting that we gathered on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day to honor this Irish-born architect, who came to the United States shortly after the American Revolution, in 1785 – arriving first in Philadelphia and later traveling to South Carolina, where is it presumed that George Washington first admired his work. Washington summoned Hoban back to Philadelphia in 1792, the same year that the national design competition was announced for the President’s House and a Capitol Building in the new capital city. Hoban’s design was chosen by July, and construction commenced. Two decades later, following the 1814 burning of the White House, it was Hoban who would rebuild the Southern Portico for President James Monroe; and still later, the Northern Portico for President Andrew Jackson.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the White House Historical Association for not only making possible this marker but for also serving as steward for the President’s House, designed and constructed by James Hoban as a fitting example of gravitas that George Washington knew would be important for our new nation to achieve respect on a world stage. For the White House, of course, serves as so much more than a residence – it is a diplomatic seat, a ceremonial site, a symbol of democracy. Hoban’s design, in fact, created the iconic image of the United States Presidency that remains recognized around the globe as the representation of our nation – and our values. It is a powerful symbol of a powerful nation – designed and built at a time when much of our new capital city was a marshy, unsettled place with aspirational dreams that would draw largely upon James Hoban’s White House as an anchor in the decades that followed.

Hoban’s life serves as an inspiring example of the American experiment – and the opportunities available to those who come to our shores. He was born in Kilkenny, Ireland – a small city dating to the sixth century; its focal point is Kilkenny Castle, a symbol of the Norman invasion in Ireland. The castle would become the capital of a Catholic rebel movement, Confederate Ireland, whose "Supreme Council" met in Kilkenny Castle from 1642-48. Surely, Hoban knew the significance and the symbolism of this castle, with its both regal and rebellious history, as a young wheelwright and carpenter growing up in his Irish community.