When Benjamin Harrison was elected president in 1888, his wife Caroline came to the White House with the hope of not just refurbishing the mansion but structurally rebuilding it. In 1890, the first lady proposed an extensive expansion of the mansion as designed by her friend, engineer Frederick D. Owen. Her model was George Washington's home in Mount Vernon, with its central block and side wings connected by colonnades.

Interns working at the Library recently unearthed a blueprint copyrighted in 1900 by Owen outlining the proposed expansion, which entailed a west and east or "public art wing," a conservatory and courtyard "divided into walks, grass, flats and plant beds, and to be enriched by a central fountain which is intended to be electrically illuminated upon rosined occasions" as stated by Owen in a handwritten letter accompanying his copyright application.

Unfortunately, Congress refused to approve her plans and she was left with a more modest remodeling overhaul that included repairing the furniture, redoing the floors and plumbing, repainting, exterminating, adding bathrooms and installing electricity. Her interest in china led her to catalog past administrations' pieces, thus establishing the collection of china associated with White House history.