Snap of Bulldozed White House Compared to Movie—'Ghosts of Presidents Past'

A photo showing the White House completely gutted with a bulldozer being driven through it has sent shockwaves online, with people comparing the surreal scene to a movie.

The building in the capital is arguably the most famous in the country, and a historical landmark.

As well as being the site of key decisions, shaping the nation over the decades, it's also home to the sitting president and their family, meaning children, pets and first ladies have lived in the home.

And while it's instantly recognizable, there was a point in history when almost the entirety of the house was torn down and rebuilt—and it's not the devastating fire of 1814 which gutted the building.

Construction on the White House originally began in 1792 when Washington laid the cornerstone, with John Adams the first president to move into the unfinished site in 1800.

Fast forward a few centuries, and President Harry Truman, who served from 1945 until 1953, lived in the capital with his wife, Bess, but the White House was on the brink of collapse by that point.

Truman, who died in 1972, would joke of "ghosts" in the building, owing to the strange noises, winds and creaks, which was in fact the building slowly falling to pieces around him.

An excerpt from a letter he wrote in 1945 to Bess, said: "I sit here in this old house and work on foreign affairs, read reports, and work on speeches—all the while listening to the ghosts walk up and down the hallway and even right here in the study.

"The floors pop and the drapes move back and forth—I can just imagine old Andy and Teddy having an argument over Franklin," according to the Truman Library Institute.

But it was when the leg of the piano his daughter Margaret was playing went straight through the floor in 1948 did they realize something was gravely wrong with the structure.

Truman commissioned an investigation, and the feedback was dire: the house was on the verge of collapse.

"Burned to the exterior walls in 1814, further compromised by the successive additions of indoor plumbing, gas lighting, electric wiring, heating ducts, and major modifications in 1902 and 1927, some said the White House was standing only from the force of habit," website White House History says.

The entire second floor was deemed unsafe, while it appeared previous additions had haphazardly chopped through load-bearing walls.

The Truman's were moved across the street, to Blair House, while an unparalleled renovation project took place.

But rather than a few nails and screws, the entire interior of the grand building was dismantled, leaving only the exterior walls in place.

White House History noted: "By autumn 1950, interior demolition had left the White House a cavernous hollow space 165 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 70 to 80 feet high."

The White House was a mere hollow shell, with floors missing, a spiderweb of steel joists in the interior, with no walls and heavy machinery where a floor used to be.

Some 126 new reinforced concrete support columns were added, and 660 tons of steel was added to reinforce the walls, floors and new skeleton structure.

Abbie Rowe, a noted National Park Service photographer, captured the transformation in a series of unbelievable images.

One of Rowe's photos was shared to Reddit's Interesting As F*** forum, where it was captioned: "The White House was completely gutted and rebuilt between 1948-1952."

Shared by HMKingHenryIX last week, it amassed more than 50,00 upvotes as many admitted they were unaware the White House had been torn down internally.

Klem_kadiddlehopper wrote: "Reminds me of the movie Money Pit starring Tom Hanks."

Rsvp_nj thought: "I knew it was 'renovated' but not to this extent. Wow."

Electrical-Wish-519 said: "I've never heard this story. I just assumed it's always been the same house. This makes a lot more sense though. How many wooden mansions are still standing in the U.S. from 1814?"

Sam_Maloner admitted: "I never knew this. That's crazy."

WWYDFA_Klondike_Bar joked: "Of course they had to rebuild the inside. That's the only way to get rid of the ghosts of the presidents past."

While Hour-Quality added: "Excuse me, where are the ghosts supposed to go during this extensive renovation?"

It cost $5.7 million and more than three years to restore, but Truman was able to move back in before the end of his presidential term in 1952.

Truman attempted to remain empathetic to the existing structure, and while the façade remained the same, two new sub-basements were constructed and the number of rooms grew from its original 48 to 54.

Although he said of its completion, as quoted by Truman Library Institute: "Bess & I looked over the East Room, Green Room, Blue Room, Red Room and State Dining Room. They are lovely. So is the hall and state stairway...

"With all the trouble and worry it is worth it—but not 5.5 million dollars! If I could have had charge of the construction it would have been done for half the money and in half the time!"