"At the end of Pennsylvania Avenue, the original city planners had that the president's house should face, in constitutional harmony, the Capitol. But the Treasury building blocked most of the view of the Executive Mansion, while the rest was hidden by a large windowless red-brick building, which intrigued Lincoln. 'That's new. What is it? A prison?'
"'No. That's President Buchanan's barn. He's very proud of it. In fact, it's about the only thing he's done in four years.'"