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Information about West Wing

For the television series set in this location, see .


The West Wing is the part of the White House Complex in which the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, and the Situation Room are located. Besides serving as the day-to-day office of the President of the United States, it includes offices for senior members of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and their support staff. The West Wing is located directly west of the Executive Residence.

History

Before the building of the new West Wing, presidential staff worked on the second floor. However, when Theodore Roosevelt became President following the assassination of President McKinley, he came to the White House with his wife and his 6 children. In 1902, finding that the existing offices in the Mansion were insufficient to accommodate his family as well as his staff, he had the West Wing constructed by the New York architects McKim, Mead & White. The West Wing was originally constructed as a temporary office structure, built atop the site of the greenhouse and stables. In the original design, the President's office was located in the center of the West Wing, where the Roosevelt Room now exists. In 1909, William Howard Taft had the interior remodeled, creating the Oval Office, reminiscent of the oval rooms in the Residence.

Both new wings are largely concealed from view because their height is lower than the main house.

On December 24, 1929, under President Hoover, the West Wing was significantly damaged by an electrical fire. In 1933 when Franklin D. Roosevelt became President, he undertook the third and final major reorganization with a new Oval Office being constructed in the southeast corner of the West Wing. The new office's location also gave presidents greater privacy, allowing them to slip back and forth between the main White House and the West Wing without being in full view of the West Wing staff. During the period, the March of Dimes constructed a swimming pool so that FDR could exercise, given his disability. Richard Nixon had the swimming pool covered over to create the Press Briefing Room, where the White House Press Secretary gives daily briefings.

Enlarge picture
Floor plan of the first floor of the West Wing, showing the location of the Oval Office, Roosevelt Room, Cabinet Room, and others.
Nixon also renamed the room previously called by Franklin Roosevelt the "Fish Room" (where he kept aquariums, and where John F. Kennedy displayed trophy fish) in honor of the two Presidents Roosevelt: Theodore, who first built the West Wing, and Franklin, who built the current Oval Office. By tradition, a portrait of Franklin Roosevelt hangs over the mantle of the Roosevelt Room during the administration of a president from the Democratic Party and a portrait of Theodore Roosevelt hangs during the administration of a Republican president (although President Clinton chose to retain the portrait of Theodore Roosevelt above the mantle). In the past, the portrait not hanging over the mantle hung on the opposite wall. However, during the first term of President George W. Bush's administration, an audio-visual cabinet was placed on the opposite wall providing secure audio and visual conference capabilities across the hall from the Oval Office.

As presidential staffs grew substantially in the latter half of the 20th century, the West Wing generally came to be seen as too small for its modern governmental functions. Today, some members of the President's staff are located in the adjacent Eisenhower Executive Office Building —originally the State, War, and Navy Building, which housed those departments.

Bush administration occupants

According to an article[1] in The Washington Post, first floor occupants of the West Wing during George W. Bush's second term include: Second floor occupants include: Bolten joined the West Wing after the article was published, replacing Andrew Card on 14 April 2006. Former occupants of the West Wing during Bush's administration include former Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Claude Allen, former Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Kristen Silverberg and former Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel Dina Powell.

Depiction in The West Wing TV Series

In 1999, a popular television show called The West Wing brought greater public attention to the workings of the Presidential staff, as well as to the location of those workings in the West Wing. When asked whether the show accurately captured the working environment in 2003, Press Secretary Scott McClellan commented that the show portrayed more foot traffic and larger rooms than in the real wing.[2]

References

1. ^ Stevens, Doug. "Inside the Real West Wing", The Washington Post, 2005-06-06 (updated August 2006). Retrieved on 2007-08-17. 
2. ^ Scott McClellan Hosts Ask the White House. The White House. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.

External links

White House Complex is the designation of the four principal structures, and the adjoining outdoor ceremonial areas, which serve as the seat of the executive branch of United States government.
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The Oval Office is the official office of the President of the United States. Located in the West Wing of the White House, the elliptical-shaped office features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk and a fireplace at the north end of the room.
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United States of America

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White House Situation Room is a 5,000 square foot conference and intelligence management center in the basement of the West Wing of the White House. It is run by the National Security Council staff for the use of the President of the United States and his advisers (including
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The term Executive Residence is used to describe the central building of the White House Complex located between the East Wing and West Wing. This central building, first constructed 1792–1800, is where the Presidents of the United States and their family live.
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Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. (IPA: /ˈroʊzəvɛlt/; October 27 1858 – January 6 1919), also known as T.R.
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Nickname(s): The Empire State
Motto(s): Excelsior!

Official language(s) None

Capital Albany
Largest city New York City

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McKim, Mead, and White was a prominent architectural firm in the eastern United States at the turn of the twentieth century. The firm consisted of Charles McKim, William Mead, and Stanford White. McKim and White studied under Henry Hobson Richardson before forming their own firm.
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The Oval Office is the official office of the President of the United States. Located in the West Wing of the White House, the elliptical-shaped office features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk and a fireplace at the north end of the room.
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March of Dimes official logo

Formation January 3, 1938
President Jennifer L. Howse
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James S. Brady Press Briefing Room is a small theater in the West Wing of the White House where the White House Press Secretary gives daily briefings to the news media and the President of the United States sometimes addresses the press and the American nation.
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was the thirty-second President of the United States. Elected to four terms in office, he served from 1933 to 1945, and is the only U.S.
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Roosevelt Room is a meeting room in the West Wing of the White House, the official home and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located almost in the center of the West Wing, and near the Oval Office the room is named for two related U.S.
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United States of America

This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
the United States


Federal government
Constitution
Taxation

President Vice President
Cabinet


Congress
Senate
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Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. (IPA: /ˈroʊzəvɛlt/; October 27 1858 – January 6 1919), also known as T.R.
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Department of State

Seal of the United States Department of State
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Formed July 27, 1789

Headquarters Harry S Truman Building
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