When this large house was built in 1893 it overlooked the Swantown Slough, a narrow tidal inlet that separated downtown from the neighborhood to the east. It was not until 1911, when a massive dredging project expanded Olympia's usable harbor, that the Swantown Slough was filled in with mud scooped from the floor of Budd Inlet. Forty new city blocks were also created on the northern edge of downtown with two million cubic yards of fill dredged up from the shallow bay.

William G. White and his wife, Amanda, built this 17-room home in the flush of optimism that followed Washington statehood in 1889. They chose an upright variation of the Queen Anne Revival style, characterized by an irregular shape and a jumble of different rooflines. The exterior is notable for a three-story square corner tower and an astonishing assortment of frilly flourishes: turned porch posts and spindles, scrolled brackets, carved bargeboards under the eaves. Many original interior features survive intact as well, including glass transoms over each doorway to let daylight through from perimeter rooms into the windowless hall.

The White House is located east of downtown on 11th Avenue SE between Boundary and Central Avenues. It is listed on the Washington State Register of Historic Places and on the Olympia Heritage Register. The house is currently operated as a bed-and-breakfast inn.

White House. Olympia Heritage Commission photo.