US Vice President Kamala US Vice President Kamala Harris is temporarily staying at the historic Blair House as her official residence is undergoing repairs, a spokesperson said.
Across the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, Blair House is the official guest house of the US President.
The official residence of the vice president is located within the Naval Observatory Complex and is about four miles northwest of the White House.
The vice president’s chief spokesperson, Symone Sanders, told reporters here on Saturday that Harris moved in on Thursday.
“They are living there while repairs are done at the vice president’s residence at the Naval Observatory,” Sanders said.
The Washington Post reported Sunday that crews are working on new liners for the chimneys and other tasks in the 33-room home, which was built in 1893.
About the Blair House
Blair House, built as a private house in 1824, is the guest house of the US President since 1942, where visiting foreign dignitaries normally stays.
The President’s Guest House is one of several residences owned by the United States government for use by the president and vice president of the United States; other such residences include the White House, Camp David, One Observatory Circle, the Presidential Townhouse, and Trowbridge House.
It is the oldest of the four structures that comprise the President’s Guest House. The original brick house was built as a private home for Joseph Lovell, eighth surgeon general of the United States Army.
It was acquired in 1836 by Francis Preston Blair, a newspaper publisher and influential advisor to President Andrew Jackson, and remained in his family for the following century.
Blair House has also served as the residence of President Harry S. Truman and his family while the interior of the White House was being renovated.
In recent years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other Indian leaders have stayed in this historic building that has 120 antique-filled rooms.
Capricia Marshall, a former chief of protocol and current board member of the Blair House Restoration Fund gave a statement that “It’s such a cozy and beautiful place. There is so much history here, and it tells the great story of our country. So many presidents have passed through that black and white marble threshold. Yes, it has a lot of square footage, but it feels like a home.”
Also, President Joe Biden and the First Lady spent the night before their inauguration here.
