Being Neighbors with Obamas Makes Renovation Tricky

Tuesday, 02 November 2010 | by Pat's Picks

If I may borrow a line from Mr. T—I pity the fool who tries to renovate the house next door to President Obama’s. The New York Times says the Secret Service has closed down the entire Chicago street and that construction workers can’t eat, drink or smoke on the site. Said the foreman: “We don’t want the president walking up and having a Burger King wrapper flying across his yard.” Beyond that, every alteration must make it through several levels of red tape, including the First Lady’s OK.

The Obama House isn’t actually the one next to the pin.  It’s two to the left:

Here’s what the actual house looks like: