10. The White House
Without the US president's home, could any list of famous US homes be complete? Starting with John Adams in 1800, the world-renowned 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was the birthplace of any US president. The White House even survived being set on fire within the War of 1812.
As with many incidents involving the Founding Fathers, the White House building is a fascinating story. A design competition to choose an architect was held, in which Thomas Jefferson submitted a losing proposal anonymously. It has many Classical architectural elements, inspired explicitly by Vitruvius and Andrea Palladio.
