[The White House (Executive Mansion") D.C. Basement plan with area way]"

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This 1853 plan shows the basement level of the Executive Mansion, the building now known as the White House, with an areaway, a sunken open space beside the walls that let daylight and fresh air reach rooms below ground. Areaways like this were a practical feature of mid-nineteenth-century public buildings, where service rooms such as kitchens, storage, and workrooms sat partly underground. The drawing is part of the Library of Congress's architecture, design, and engineering collection, and its fine linework and dimensioned layout make it a useful record of how the building's lower floor was organized.

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