Replicas of the White House

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White House replica in Atlanta, Georgia
White House replica in Atlanta, Georgia

Replicas of the White House describe models of the home of the President of the United States, the White House. Under President Harry S. Truman, who oversaw a major renovation of the house, several U.S. State Department embassies and consular facilities were modeled on the White House. A 1:25 scale model at Minimundus at Klagenfurt in Carinthia, Austria, is extremely accurate, including the East and West Colonnades and the East and West Wings. In Atlanta, Georgia, a nearly full-scale model exists. The exterior is less accurate. It is owned by Atlanta home builder Fred Milani, an American citizen born in Iran. In 2001 a Chinese businessman built a model of cast concrete. The Chinese model is nearly exact in exterior dimensions but departs from the original in details, such the pitch of the portico modeled on the North Portico. It also lacks the carved details in the window hoods and above doorways. The interior of the Chinese copy has a fanciful floor plan placing the Oval Office in the central residence, where the Blue Room would be on the State Floor of the White House. In front of the replica stands a miniature Washington Monument. It also has a one-third-size Mount Rushmore with employees' quarters located in the back.

An exacting scale model of the White House built by John and Jan Zweifel has traveled across much of the United States on exhibition.