Number One Observatory Circle

Number One Observatory Circle
Official home of the Vice President of the United States, photographed in 2003.
General information
Address	1 Observatory Circle, U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D.C.
Current tenants	Mike Pence, Vice President of the United States and the Second Family
Completed	1893
Design and construction
Architect	Leon E. Dessez
Website
www.whitehouse.gov/1600/vp-residence

Number One Observatory Circle is the official residence of the Vice President of the United States.

Located on the northeast grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., the house was built in 1893 for its superintendent. The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) liked the house so much that in 1923 he took over the house for himself. It remained the residence of the CNO until 1974, when Congress authorized its transformation to an official residence for the Vice President, though a temporary one. In fact, by law, it is still the "official temporary residence of the Vice President of the United States." The 1974 congressional authorization covered the cost of refurbishment and furnishing the house.

Before that time, the Vice President lived in his own home.

Although Number One Observatory Circle was made available to the Vice President in 1974, three years passed before a Vice President lived full-time in the house. Vice President Gerald Ford became President before he could use the house. His Vice President, Nelson Rockefeller, primarily used the home for entertaining as he already had a well-secured residence in Washington, D.C., though the Rockefellers donated millions of dollars of furnishings to the house. Vice President Walter Mondale was the first Vice President to move into the house. Every Vice President since has lived there.

The Vice Presidential mansion was refurbished by the United States Navy in early 2001, only slightly delaying the move of then Vice President Dick Cheney and his family.

The house at One Observatory Circle was designed by architect Leon E. Dessez and built in 1893 for $20,000 for the use of the superintendent of the Naval Observatory who was the original resident. It was built on 13 acres of land that had originally been part of a 73-acre farm called Northview, which the Navy purchased in 1880. The observatory was moved from Foggy Bottom to its new location the same year the house was completed and twelve Observatory Superintendents lived in what was then known as The Superintendent's House. In 1928, with the passage of Public Law 630, Congress appropriated it for the Chief of Naval Operations, and in June 1929 Charles Frederick "Handlebars" Hughes became the first resident of what would then become known as Admiral's House. For the next 45 years it served as the home of such notable Admirals as Chester W. Nimitz and Elmo Zumwalt. The home was originally dark red brick. Then in 1960, it was painted "feather" gray and, in 1963, white with black shutters. Now it is cream colored.