West Wing

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For the television series set in this location, see The West Wing (TV series).
The West Wing (in foreground).
The West Wing (in foreground).

The West Wing is the part of the White House 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.

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[edit] History

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt had the architectural firm McKim, Mead and White design new wings at either side of the central Executive Residence to accommodate the President's growing staff, which had previously occupied the east end of the second floor of the White House. Both new wings are largely concealed from view because their height is lower than the main house.

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. Soon realizing 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 for the first time, reminiscent of the oval rooms in the Residence (the Diplomatic Reception Room on the ground floor, the Blue Room on the State Floor, and the Yellow Oval Room in the Presidential Residence).

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.

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.

[edit] Bush administration occupants

According to a June 2005 article 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.

[edit] Trivia

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, many former White House staffers say yes, but have also observed that the television set appeared less crowded than the real offices, with far more glass. In 2003, Press Secretary Scott McClellan commented that the show portrayed more foot traffic and larger rooms than in the real wing.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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