I’m really starting to think that between photos from readers and the way the internet connects me to the world, I could just stay in my house and still have plenty of doors to write about.  I’m currently at our “camp” which depending on where you are in the country could be defined as a cottage, lake house, summer home, etc.  I usually call it our shack in the woods, because it’s tiny, it needs work, and it’s in the woods.  Anyway, you get the picture.

This is the first time EVER that I have brought my computer to camp with me, but since I will be on vacation for the next two weeks I wanted to get a few things taken care of.  I thought a post of a patriotic nature would be good for Independence Day weekend, so I browsed around on the ‘net for about 10 seconds and found a photo of the entrance door to the White House.  That seemed patriotic, so I emailed the person who took the photo to get permission to use it, searched the web for more information about the doors in the White House, and VOILA!  All without leaving my shack in the woods!

I wanted to get a better sense of where this door was located, and according to the photographer it’s the entrance door on the North Portico, which leads to the Entrance Hall.  From what I can tell, it’s on the interior of this vestibule, which I find aesthetically-hideous but which I’m sure serves important security purposes, even though these doors don’t meet egress requirements for an assembly occupancy.  According to my sources, there are 412 doors in the White House, which could change since they seem to renovate on a regular basis.  I wonder if they have a full-time locksmith on staff?

You can find more information about the history and architecture of the White House on the following websites:

www.WhiteHouseHistory.org
www.WhiteHouseMuseum.org
www.WhiteHouse.gov

And while I may not support all of the views of this parody website, I’m impressed (and a little freaked out) by the similarity in the design of this site and the real White House site.  Coincidentally, it has a 360 degree view of the entrance hall, including the door in the photo above.  www.WhiteHouse.gov1.info

If you REALLY like this door, you can buy a set of bookends with a likeness of it from the White House Museum Store, including the reproduction of the slightly droopy lever!  🙂

Have a safe and happy 4th, everyone!

Top photo courtesy of Luigi Crespo.  You can see more of Luigi’s photos on his Flickr photostream.

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