White House

:"1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" redirects here. For the musical, see 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (musical).

The West Wing

In the early twentieth century, new buildings were added to the wings at either side of the main White House to accommodate the President's growing staff, which had previously used an office located in the U.S. Capitol. Both new wings were largely concealed from view by being built to a lower height than the main house. The West Wing houses the President's office and offices of his political staff. It currently holds about 50 employees.

Related Topics:
Twentieth century - U.S. Capitol

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As with much of the White House at the time, the West Wing was substantially remodeled and expanded for President Theodore Roosevelt by the New York architects McKim, Mead & White and contained a new cabinet room, with a small, square office next door that served as the President's office. Before the building of the new West Wing, presidential staff worked on the second floor. President William Howard Taft had the interior remodeled. Central to the remodeling was a new presidential office in the dead center of the building, which, given its shape, was nicknamed the Oval Office.

Related Topics:
Theodore Roosevelt - New York - McKim, Mead & White - Second floor - William Howard Taft - Oval Office

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On December 24, 1929 (Christmas Eve), the West Wing was significantly damaged by fire. In 1933 when Franklin D. Roosevelt became President, he undertook the third and final major reorganization with a new Oval Office being constructed; he disliked the original central location because it lacked windows and, as a result, was entirely reliant on skylights. The new office's location also allowed Presidents greater privacy, as they were now able to slip back and forth between the main White House and the West Wing without being in full view of the West Wing staff, a problem with the two earlier offices. Roosevelt also constructed a swimming pool to enable him to exercise.

Related Topics:
December 24 - 1929 - Oval Office - Swimming pool

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In 1969, to accommodate the growing number of reporters assigned to the White House and based in the West Wing, President Richard Nixon had the by-then unused pool covered over. The former swimming pool is now the location of the Press Center, where the President's spokesperson gives daily briefings. Nixon also renamed the room (which, prior to the rebuilding after the 1929 fire, had been the first Oval Office) as the Roosevelt Room, 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 in the 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.

Related Topics:
Richard Nixon - Theodore - Franklin - Democratic Party - Republican

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As presidential staffs grew substantially in the latter half of the twentieth 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 (EEOB)—originally the State, War, and Navy Building, which housed the Departments of State, War (i.e., Army) and the Navy.

Related Topics:
Eisenhower Executive Office Building - State - War - Navy

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Beginning 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 (rather than in the White House itself). When asked whether the show accurately captured the working environment, some former White House staffers observed that the television set appeared less crowded than the real offices. In 2003, Press Secretary Scott McClellan commented that the show portrayed more foot traffic and larger rooms than in the real wing.

Related Topics:
1999 - The West Wing - 2003 - Scott McClellan

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