Number One Observatory Circle

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Vice President's House

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

Located on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., the house was built in 1893 for its superintendent. The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) loved 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 had the house refurbished and turned it into the official residence of the Vice President.

Before that time, the Vice President lived in his own home, but the cost of providing security for these private residences had become prohibitive.

Although Number One Observatory Circle was made available to the Vice President in 1974, three years passed before a Vice President lived in the home. Vice President Gerald Ford became President before he could use the home, and his Vice President, Nelson Rockefeller, primarily used the home for entertaining since he already had a residence in Washington. Vice President Walter Mondale was the first Vice President to move into the home and every Vice President since has lived in the house.

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

[edit] Security

Due to pressure from the United States government, One Observatory Circle is censored out of the Google Maps satellite image.

However, a high-resolution satellite image of Observatory Circle is still available from Yahoo Maps, as of December 8, 2006.

After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and the Washington, D.C. area, plans were quietly made to renovate the house to make it more secure. In late 2002, neighbors reported incidents of what was likely blasting under the house to create a bunker for the Vice President's family and staff. [1] The work lasted several months.