The Insane Security of the White House

[Music] it's one of our planet's most iconic buildings a symbol of the US and the most secure family home in the world welcome to the White House each of the rooms has a special personality I just think that everything in the white house should be the best I want to welcome all of you here 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue this this is the people's house for real but deep inside the White House the president does a lot more than just eat sleep binge the b1m and repeat this is where some of

the world's most consequential decisions are taken and when you've got stuff like that going on keeping unwanted people out and critical secrets in is the name of the game probably the most the most and one of the most secure buildings in the world the most secure buildings in the world it's one of the most secure places in the freaking world over the centuries this simple neoclassical house has Threat by threat quietly become one of the most subtly fortified sites in the world there's everything from snipers and missiles to nuclear-proof bunkers layer upon layer of fencing

and secret underground tunnels to protect the administration and the first family you've got an office home and event space above ground and a secret Labyrinth of operation centers and surveillance underneath this place is world famous yet still shrouded in mystery so sit down strap yourself in and prepare to be fully briefed on the insane security of the White [Music] House now before bringing you up to speed on White House security we need to make sure you're suitably briefed on this site we start way back in 1791 when the White House first started coming to life

following a competition to design the Mansion Irish born architect James hoben saw his vision begin to take shape as was sadly common at the time much of the construction was carried out with the forc labor of insl people using Sandstone the White House had more than 100 rooms spread over three floors it would of course go on to be changed and updated multiple times over the years in 1814 the British started a fire here that grew so large the glow could be seen 50 m away sorry about that it was only heavy rainfall that stopped

the president's house from being flattened entirely notable updates throughout the 19th century included the addition of terraces to the east and west and the iconic semicircular Portico to the South the famous westwing was added in 1902 to create more office space it was only meant to be temporary but in 1909 President William Taft decided he wanted it doubled in size Taft's real architectural Legacy came with the construction of the over office inspired by the blue room inside the mansion that's the original bit of the building the oval shape dates back to president Washington's Philadelphia Mansion

the original site of the US capital and this room has been the main workspace of the presidents ever since cementing the future of the West Wing FDR expanded it again in 1934 from 15,000 up to 40,000 sare ft the East Wing meanwhile wasn't constructed until 1942 again to create more office space but by the late 1940s after standing for a century and a half the White House was starting to show its age America's most famous home was in danger of collapse the beams supporting the structure were falling apart and President Truman regularly complained of popping

sounds and drafts then in 1948 following reports it was actually unsafe to live in the president left the White House everything and I mean everything by the outer walls was completely rebuilt deep foundations were dug below the house and the interior was fitted out with a new steel frame skeleton more than 120 reinforced concrete columns reported to a depth of 25 ft to support the inner walls and two new sub basement levels were excavated it wasn't until 1952 when Truman and his family finally moved back in to what is aside from some Renovations and Tech

upgrades by and large the White House that we all know today now big decisions are made at the White House every day but the crucial daily maintenance of local infrastructure generally Falls to local cities and councils it can be a long run expensive process to make sure the roads we use every day are up to scratch thankfully today's video sponsor valytics are here to help they're helping towns cities and communities across the world improve road infrastructure whilst also saving money and they're doing it with their intelligent Ro management system now that might sound complicated but

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the vitic task management system lets you appoint someone to fix it with just a few clicks now I've had a go at this myself I've put it through its Paces in my own car on the UK's pretty notorious Road Network and honestly it really is impressive stuff to learn more about how valytics can save you time and money click on the link in the description or visit vix.com now let's get back to the White [Music] House now on one hand the White House is a ridiculously secure building full of mystery and international Secrets but on

the other we as the public are welcomed to apply to have a nosy round this grand old house there are 132 rooms and what feels like a disproportionate 30 5 bathrooms they spread across six levels a two-story basement the ground floor first floor second floor and third floor and it's all access using eight staircases and three lifts the structure has more than 400 doors nearly 150 windows and 28 fireplaces for those cold DC Winters for those of you that can't make it out here for the tour don't worry because we're going to take you on

one right now we're starting over here in the twostory East Wing where the office of the first lady or first gentleman is based but Dig Down much much deeper and you'll discover the presidential Emergency Operations Center or peoc built as a concrete air raid shelter following the attack on Pearl Harbor it's fitted out with everything you'd need to communicate with the outside world it's this complex where then Vice President Dick Cheney and eventually President Bush were moved to on 9/11 and it's rumored to be able to withstand a nuclear attack in the iconic executive Mansion

you'll find the state rooms spread across the ground and first floors with the residence where the first family actually lives above that a corridor connects the east and west wings stretching all the way through the main house and so over to the West Wing along the ground floor there are offices for the Secret Service and Homeland Security the Navy mess is here too since 1951 the Navy's best culinary mines have catered For the white house next door is the famous Situation Room which has just received a $50 million upgrade it was first built following the

Bay of PE Invasion and was used for updates throughout the Vietnam War by Lynden Johnson it's from here that George W bush launched the Iraq War and where Barack Obama watched the Navy SEAL Team raid against Bin Laden it's a lot more than just a room too it's actually a 5,000 500t Network made up of various spaces in fact it used to be a bowling alley but don't worry that lane still exists it's just been relocated you can now find it Sandage between a flower shop and the carpenter shop underneath the North Port on the

first floor of the West Wing is the Press briefing room the original site of the indoor pool the cabinet room and of course the Oval Office there's also another 100 or so rooms for the vice president and various other functions that we haven't really got time to go through now so how do you keep all of this secure it's fair to say that security at the White House has evolved over the years back in 1842 the author Charles Dickens visited the White House and when nobody answered the door he just let himself in we would

strongly recommend not doing that today while as a viewer of the b1m I personally trust your character security staff can never be too sure you can book ahead toward the White House but if you're planning a visit requests have to be made 3 weeks in advance to allow for background checks everything from the grounds to the skies here is on permanent 24/7 watch any Pilots trying to take an unplanned shortcut through Washington airspace will be promptly escorted Away by military aircraft worse they may be warned about the likelihood of an incoming missile short to medium-

range surface to air missiles are stationed at key locations around Washington they're ready to act at a moment's notice it really is the most restricted patch of sky in the world the nearest airport to the White House is Reagan National about 4 M away since 9/11 a flight restricted Zone has extended 15 nautical miles around the airport with strict controls over entering the airspace there's also prohibited air area 56 or p56 it's existed for 50 years and covers the White House the National Mall and the residence of the vice president back on the ground the

best place to start is with the fence around the White House perimeter it's simple but very effective in 2023 it was raised from 6 1/2 ft to 13 ft now that might not sound too high but alog together it's 3,500 ft of thick iron bars fitted with pressure sensors anti-climb and anti intrusion technology thanks to help from its deep concrete footings it's also blast and RAM proof a very far cry from the wooden fence that once stood here in the 1800s a range of infrared cameras and a roof-mounted radar system highlight Intruders to Security Services

the 150 windows are fitted with the strongest bulletproof glass on the planet in 2011 several shots were fired at the White House from a semi-automatic rifle none managed to penetrate the windows but it was still a big moment in the history of this building now protecting what's often called the people's house is a task given to the Secret Service while it's not publicly known how many agents are stationed at the White House we do know that at all ours well over a thousand officers are placed there and at key locations around DC groups of armed

agents Patrol the grounds and a team of snipers keep watch from the roof of the executive mansion and yet with all those measures there are still those who've tried their luck at a very ill advised break-in in 2014 before the fence was upgraded a 2-year-old managed to squeeze through the bars to the north and delay a presidential address how many lockdowns Ultra secure government facilities had you caused by the age of two of course there have in fact been multiple more dramatic and even fatal attempts our unequivocal advice is please don't bother book at all

like everyone else or just watch this video [Music] again conspiracies about the the White House are a dime a dozen it's no secret that the president's Mansion is surrounded by exactly that secrets from east to west top to bottom but most notably down below the tunnels it's popular opinion that underneath the White House there's a system of passageways probably not quite like that here's what we do know for sure there's a tunnel that leads down to the presidential Emergency Operations Center then between the East wing and the treasury building there's another 761 ft Escape Route

less substantiated rumors include underground passages to the Pentagon the capital building Blair House and the residence of the vice president as you can see the rumors of these tunnels really do stretch far and wide quite literally unfortunately any further information is well above our clearance [Music] level the White House is a lot more than just a big and imp cling Mansion it's steeped in history a survivor of fires plane crashes and multiple Wars it's a place of History altering decisions and family memories alike an architecturally significant and world-renowned landmark but even with its endless Renovations

and security upgrades at its heart James hoban's original White House still lives on and with a new family moving in very soon who knows what the next chapter of History might bring [Music] this video was sponsored by viol litics you can learn more about that at the link below don't forget that we're inspiring the next generation of Builders through our investment into brick borrow you can learn more and get started today and even build the White House over at Brick bor.com and as always guys if you enjoyed this video and you want to get more

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