Truman Balcony House. Truman Balcony The Truman Balcony is the second-floor balcony of the Executive Residence of the White House, which overlooks the south lawn. It was completed in March 1948, during the presidency of Harry S. Truman. Truman's plans to build a balcony off the Yellow Oval Room were controversial. Truman argued that the addition of a balcony would provide shade for the first floor portico, avoiding the need for awnings, and would balance the White House's south face by breaking up the long verticals created by the columns. Critics of the proposal, including members of the Commission of Fine Arts,
Henry John Whitehouse Henry John Whitehouse Henry John Whitehouse (August 19, 1803 – August 10, 1874) was the second Episcopal bishop of Illinois. Whitehouse was born in New York City, the son of James Whitehouse (1767–1854) and Eliza Higgs Norman (1775–1835). Whitehouse was described as a "thorough aristocrat by birth and training and accustomed to every luxury." He graduated from Columbia University in 1821, and from the General Theological Seminary in 1824. Whitehouse was ordained deacon in 1824, and was ordained priest in 1827. After his ordination as priest, he became rector of Christ Church in Reading, Pennsylvania. Two years later, he moved