November 7, 2020 2:29:40 pm
The palatial 19th century white brick bungalow in the heart of a sprawling 12 acre complex was first built in 1893. (Source: The White House)
While Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris are poised to win the US election, social media users in India are more concerned about the housing of Democrats once they are elected President and Vice President of the United States. United. Desis on Twitter is jokingly saying that the White House should be renamed “Kamala Vilas,” a nod to Harris’ Indian ancestry.
Sometimes, #WhatsApp creativity is on point#KamalaVilas # Elections2020 pic.twitter.com/oHal9W1wnc
– Anand Datla (@SportaSmile) November 5, 2020
We know that Joe Biden and his family will move into the White House, the official residence and workplace of America’s presidents for more than two centuries, but where will Kamala Harris live if she becomes Vice President?
The real “Kamala Vilas” is known by its address – ‘Observatory Circle Number One’ – and is located on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory, just a few miles from the White House in Washington DC.
The palatial 19th-century white-brick bungalow in the heart of a sprawling 12-acre complex was first built in 1893 for the observatory superintendent, and became the residence of the chief of naval operations in 1924. About 50 years later, it became the official lodging of the vice president of the United States, when Walter Mondale and his family moved for the first time.
Historically, vice presidents and their families lived in their own homes, but when the cost of insuring private residences grew substantially over the years, Congress finally agreed to designate the ‘Number One Observatory Circle’ as the home of the vice president.
.@Secondmayor & I was honored to welcome military families to the Naval Observatory to celebrate an early Thanksgiving. Thank you to all who are serving and who have served! pic.twitter.com/siVdUKrw3o
– Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) November 17, 2017
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In fact, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden lived here from 2008 to 2016 while serving as Vice President of the United States under the Barack Obama administration.
Jill Biden during Christmas celebrations at the Number One Observatory Circle. (Source: oneobservatorycircle.com)
If she wins the election, Kamala Harris will make history as the first black and Indian vice president to live here. She is expected to move into the historic home with her husband, attorney Douglas Emhoff.
On the ground floor of the compact three-story brick building there is a hall, a living room, a porch, a dining room, a living room and a couple of bathrooms. The second floor has two bedrooms, a study and a study. The third-floor attic was originally built as staff accommodation and storage space, but now has four separate bedrooms for the vice president’s children. The kitchen, laundry room and other storage rooms are in the basement.
The Veranda, with a viewpoint in the background in 2008. (Source: White House Museum)
Each vice president who has ever lived in the house has added their special touch. A book published in 2017 called ‘Number One Observatory Circle’ tells the story of the house and how it evolved over the years. George HW Bush allegedly had a horseshoe well installed during his time at the home, the book reveals.
Dan Quayle added a pool, a pool house, and an exercise room. It was for this reason, Joe Biden said in an interview, that Quayle was his “favorite vice president.” “No one can say anything negative about Dan Quayle … he built that pool,” he said. Her granddaughters made frequent use of the pool, according to a USA Today report.
Biden made a more sentimental contribution. He added a plaque to one of the tall trees on the ground, which reads, “Joe Loves Jill, Valentine 2010”. The Bidens also built a “Family Heirloom Garden,” with flagstones to represent former vice presidents and their families, as well as their pets.
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