Why Build the White House?

By Kermit Horne

You are probably thinking that anyone who dreams of building a life – sized replica of the White House in Central Florida must need psychiatric counseling. I mean, why would anyone want to spend millions of dollars on a White House in Central Florida when anyone who wanted to could visit the real one in Washington, DC?

The thought of building a life-size replica came to me in 1981 when, as a commercial developer, it seemed that Americans had a lot of interest in the residence of the President of the United States, but had never visited the White House. I visited it myself only to find that tourists had limited access to the full building. I was curious about how the leader of the free world lived. I also knew that if the walls could speak, they would have many stories to tell about the significant decisions affecting the world that had been discussed and negotiated in the White House beginning from early American history.

As I discussed the idea of building a replica, and spoke with others, it seemed that Americans and persons throughout the world were as keenly interested as I was in knowing more about the 213-year history of this icon of democracy. As part of my quest, I was able to obtain the actual blue prints of the building. To my amazement, I realized that much of the White House has never been seen by the average American, and that there is significant history and symbolism of our heritage throughout the building. Why not make this history accessible to Americans young and old – and to others with an interest? This began my quest – not for a profitable venture as I had first imagined, but a not-for –profit venture allowing all who love America and its unique history to participate in making the White House available for all to see.

Building a beautiful scale model of the United States White House in Central Florida and establishment of historical programming would

1. Assure a comprehensive study of the planning and building of the actual White House in Washington, DC as it actually stands today.

2. Allow Americans, both young and old, and others interested in American History, to tour the White House and study the 234 years history of our great Nation.

3. Display significant documents of American History such as the Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, Bill of Rights, to remind Americans of the uniqueness of our form of government compared to other nations of the world.

4. Present historical backgrounds, characteristics ,and accomplishments of the 43 Presidents who have resided in the White House including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and all who followed them as residents of this great landmark which today is recognized the world over as the place where major historical decisions are made daily. George Washington, the Father of our Country, chose the location and worked with the architect planning the White House but never resided there.

5. Turn the hearts of Americans back toward patriotism — turning negative thoughts and conversations to positive ones, encouraging our citizens to have confidence in America’s future. Positive enthusiasm from “We the People” according to Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s world famous book, The Power of Positive Thinking, will take charge. Yes, We Do Have the Power to Replace the Negative With the Positive, and Yes, We Can Become Debt Free, and Yes, Our Children and Grandchildren Will be able to Dream of a Great and Glorious Future, a heritage more valuable than gold!!!

Oh, how we need committed American Youth and Adults alike to come together and work for the good of all, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans. In Our America, all visitors will be identified as Americans or Foreign Visitors.

Every tour of the White House in Central Florida will be Entertaining, Educational, and Enjoyable…  A lifetime Experience.

Our studies indicate four to five thousand visitors daily.  May each visitor realize that faith, sacrifice, and determination were important practices of our ancestors, and the same practices will insure our success.  We inherited a nation with great possibilities.  Let us give that to our posterity.

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