sentences:  There were no floors in the East Room, the Blue Room, or the western third of the Cross Hall (which at that time extended all the way to the west, as the State Dining Room would not be extended all the way north until 1902).There was also no grand staircase east of the Entrance Hall, and the only way to access the Second Floor was via temporary stairs on the exterior of the building which led up to the top of the South Portico.Until the North Portico was completed in 1829, providing access from the North Lawn and carriageway, the Entrance Hall was used as space to exhibit items brought back by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.