Hoban, James (1755-1831), was an Irish-born American architect. He is best known as the designer of the original White House, the official residence of the president of the United States, in Washington, D.C. Hoban won a design competition in July 1792 for the building and helped supervise its construction from 1792 to 1800.
Architectural historians believe Hoban modeled his White House design after the palace of the dukes of Leinster, now known as Leinster House (1745-1751), in Dublin and currently the meeting place of the Irish Parliament. Hoban’s first plan was for a rectangular three-story building with a giant porch. George Washington reduced its height to two stories. Hoban later built, and then oversaw alterations to, the residence. For example, the south and north porticos of the White House were added in 1824 and 1829 by Hoban with the assistance of the English-born architect Benjamin Latrobe.
Hoban was born near Callan in County Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1755. He studied with the noted Dublin architect Thomas Ivory at the Royal Dublin Society’s drawing school, beginning by 1779. Hoban moved permanently to the United States in the mid-1780’s. By 1785, he was living in Philadelphia. Hoban then moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where he lived from 1787 to 1792. Little of his work in Charleston survives, and most public building records of this time were destroyed during the Civil War (1861-1865). He probably designed public buildings and plantations. George Washington met Hoban while visiting Charleston in 1791. Washington later wrote a letter introducing Hoban to the new capital’s commissioners.
After winning the White House commission, Hoban was appointed inspector of government works in Washington, D.C., and oversaw many roads, bridges, and buildings. He designed the Palladian-style brick and stone Blodget’s Hotel (1793-about 1810) in Washington and also served periodically as superintendent in charge of the Capitol building. Hoban may have provided designs for a new building in 1809 for St. Patrick’s Church, one of the city’s first Roman Catholic churches. He supervised construction of Oak Hill, the Virginia mansion of President James Monroe, in the 1820’s.
Hoban was elected to the Washington City Council in 1802 and served on the council off and on for many years. He died on Dec. 8, 1831. Most of his papers and drawings were destroyed in a fire in the 1880’s, making definite identification of his works difficult.
