Ulysses Grant Dietz has been a self-described “house freak” since he was a kid. His job is to oversee an historic beer brewers mansion at the Newark Museum in New Jersey, but he has a Holy Grail. It’s the place his great-great grandfather—former President Ulysses S. Grant once called home. It’s also the subject of a new book he’s co-authored, titled Dream House: The White House as an American Home.

Some of President Grant’s items are on display courtesy of Dietz at the Museum of Science of Industry’s exhibition The White House: A Look Inside, which ends today. Eight Forty-Eight recently met up with Ulysses Dietz. He gave us an historic walk through the White House looking at how approaches to design and decoration have changed over the years. He says in the beginning, its sheer size made it unlike any other American home.

Music Button: Elgar, “Pomp & Circumstance March No. 1”, from the CD 40 Most Beautiful Classical Anthems, (WCJ)