24. The government operates a guest house in Washington for presidential guests
When Winston Churchill visited Washington in December of 1941 he stayed in the White House as a guest of the president, rather than at the British Embassy. Since then the US government has used a residence at 1651 Pennsylvania Avenue as the official guest house for visiting dignitaries and heads of state. Known as the Blair House, the guest residence is a combination of four townhouses, which collectively are larger than the residence of the White House, totaling over 100 rooms, and comprising more than 70,000 square feet of space. It is operated and maintained by the State Department and the General Services Administration.
Blair House served as the residence of the president during the Truman Administration, when the White House was completely gutted and its interior rebuilt, after the exterior walls were stabilized. Since then it has served as one of the guest houses offered to foreign heads of state visiting Washington. The government also has guest houses in Washington for the use of former presidents when they visit Washington at the behest of the government, including Trowbridge House, which is located adjacent to Blair House. Guests of the president not invited to Camp David are thus accommodated in Washington in a manner convenient to them and to the needs of the president.
