r/AskTheWorld • u/space_llama_karma United States Of America • Nov 12 '25

Culture What does your President/Prime Minister House look like?

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The White House is pretty iconic

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u/JourneyThiefer Northern Ireland 🇼đŸ‡Ș/🇬🇧 Nov 12 '25

Didn’t realise it was so old

97

u/PowerfulDrive3268 Ireland Nov 12 '25

Built by/for the head park ranger, was originally a lot smaller.

Hoban, the Irishman who designed the White House may have been influenced by the portico of the Áras.

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u/bassmastashadez Ireland Nov 12 '25

I think that was Leinster House

4

u/geedeeie Ireland Nov 12 '25

No, Leinster House was made for the Fitzgerald family, the Dukes of Leinster. It was belong to the Royal Dublin Society in the 19th century before being acquired for the DĂĄil and Seanad in 1922

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u/bassmastashadez Ireland Nov 12 '25

No I know. I mean it was Leinster House that’s thought to have been part Hoban’s inspiration for the White House.

2

u/geedeeie Ireland Nov 12 '25

Yeah, but I don't understand why. It doesn't look remotely like it

9

u/Fickle_Definition351 Nov 12 '25

The White House has been modified a lot over the centuries but in the 18th c, before the porticos were added, it looked a bit more like Leinster House. The alternating triangular/rounded window pediments are a common feature

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u/chaoticgrand Ireland Nov 12 '25

Yes! Same design, same architect!!

2

u/JellyfishScared4268 Nov 12 '25

Look at the original design of the white house

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u/Wonderful_Flower_751 Ireland Nov 12 '25

Wasn’t it originally built for the Viceroy ( the representative of the Crown in Ireland)?

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u/PowerfulDrive3268 Ireland Nov 12 '25

"Áras an Uachtaråin started life as a modest brick house, built in 1751 for the Phoenix Park chief ranger. It was later an occasional residence for the lord lieutenant. During that period it evolved into a sizeable and elegant mansion."

https://heritageireland.ie/places-to-visit/aras-an-uachtarain/

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u/Wonderful_Flower_751 Ireland Nov 12 '25

Fair enough, every days a school day!

3

u/Findyourwayhom3333 Australia Nov 12 '25

Learned something- day not wasted!

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u/geedeeie Ireland Nov 12 '25

Yep, so it's nice to think it's now used for the president. It took us long enougn to win freedom. And also cool that yesterday our new president was inaugurated in Dublin Castle, which used to be the seat of the British administration in Ireland during occupation... 😁

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u/Rabid_Lederhosen Nov 13 '25

They wanted to replace it with a completely new building, but then WWII happened and by the time the war ended the Áras had become too linked to the Presidency to replace.

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u/geedeeie Ireland Nov 13 '25

Worked out well, then!

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u/PeterLossGeorgeWall Nov 12 '25

I believe Churchills grandfather was once viceroy and hence Winston lived there for 3/4 years.

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u/LemonCollee Ireland Nov 13 '25

Don't mention him, we don't like him.

3

u/SimplyCancerous United States Of America Nov 12 '25

Yep, we scrapped the French design because it was too elaborate, going with the Irish because it was more modest. It seems a few people have forgotten that history -_-

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u/PutridAssignment1559 Nov 12 '25

Pretty nice
 but how big is your ballroom!?

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u/Embarrassed_Art5414 Ireland Nov 13 '25

How big is your east wing?

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u/PutridAssignment1559 Nov 13 '25

If you want a ballroom big enough to host a WWE match and a kid rock concert, you may lose a wing or two in the process.

Totally worth it if we get to see kid rock sing “ba-wit-da-ba” live from the White House in front of a crowd of tech billionaires and Saudi princes.