West Wing
The West Wing ( English for West Wing ) is part of the White House Complex, the wing of the building that houses the official offices of the President of the United States of America . It houses the Oval Office , the Cabinet Room , the Situation Room and the Roosevelt Room . The offices of the executive members of the Executive Office and their employees are located on three floors .
The West Wing is located directly west of the Executive Residence . Since it is lower than the rest of the White House Complex, it is largely shielded from outside view by trees.
history
In 1902, then President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned a renovation of the White House, proposing a one-story extension of the White House to the west and east. As a result, the Executive Office Building was built. In 1909, William Howard Taft had this building enlarged and the interior redesigned, including the Oval Office. Taft was the first President of the United States to serve in the Oval Office.
On Christmas Eve 1929, the Executive Office Building was badly damaged by fire. President Herbert Hoover found out about this during the White House Christmas party and left the party to coordinate the rescue of documents from the Oval Office. The celebration was not canceled, instead the band was instructed to play happy music. Also, his wife stayed behind to keep the spirits up. After Hoover was brought out of the Oval Office by the Secret Service for security reasons, he positioned himself on the nearby greenhouse and didn't go to bed until around midnight. At 7:27 a.m. local time on December 25, 1929, the fire was officially reported as having been extinguished. After the fire, Hoover had the building remodeled and the roof replaced, but no significant changes were made.
Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt , the office space was expanded from 15,000 square feet (approximately 1,400 m²) to 40,000 square feet (approximately 3,700 m²). Eric Gugler worked as an architect on the renovation. A second floor and an enlarged underground office area were built. The position of the Oval Office was changed from south to south-east due to Roosevelt criticizing a lack of privacy. By changing the position of the Oval Office it was possible for him to move between the White House and the West Wing without being seen by the entire West Wing staff. The March of Dimes organization financed a swimming pool for the president so that he could train against his illness. The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room is located at the location of the swimming pool .
During Roosevelt's tenure, the West Wing became the common name for the section of the White House Complex. It was not officially renamed until 1949 to avoid confusion with the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
More official offices were built between 1969 and 1970, with the reception lobby being reduced in size. In 2006 the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room was renovated, and the Situation Room was enlarged and renovated in the same year. At the beginning of April 2011, a renovation of the underground supply lines began, and the heating, air conditioning and fire protection systems were replaced. In 2011, the construction period was set for four years, of the 376 million US dollars, 86 million US dollars are earmarked for the West Wing alone.
Spaces
There is a cafeteria on the ground floor of the West Wing , located below the Oval Office, which was opened by President Truman on June 11, 1951 . The Situation Room is located in the basement of the west wing and has an area of 513.3 m². It was set up shortly after the Cuban Missile Crisis and serves as a conference room for crises.
Representation in the television series The West Wing - In the center of power
Between 1999 and 2006, the television series The West Wing brought greater public attention to the work of the President's staff and the West Wing itself. The series followed the life of the fictional Democratic President Josiah Bartlet and his senior staff. When the press secretary Scott McClellan was asked in 2003 whether the show was an accurate representation of the work environment, he commented that the series showed longer walkways and larger rooms than the real wing.
Web links
- West Wing , White House Museum - with floor plan and historical pictures
- West Wing Interactive , National Journal Magazine
Individual evidence
- ^ The White House Archives: The West Wing , accessed August 25, 2012.
- ↑ a b c d White House History Timelines: The West Wing ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , The White House Historical Association, accessed August 25, 2012.
- ↑ Robert Debs Heinl Jr .: 'Twas Was The Night Before Christmas ... , December 1970, Volume 22, Issue 1, accessed on August 25, 2012.
- ^ A b c West Wing of the White House , White House Museum, accessed August 25, 2012.
- ↑ Amanda Ripley: A Short History of White House Fires , time.com, December 19, 2009, accessed August 25, 2012.
- ↑ Mark S. Smith: White House West Wing Under Construction for Foreseeable Future ( Memento of the original from January 18, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Associated Press , cnsnews.com April 4, 2011, accessed August 25, 2012.
- ^ Ingle Saul: Dinner at 1600 . Profiles Ivan Saez, a United States Navy mess management specialist working inside the White House in Washington, DC In: All Hands; Dec2001, Issue 1016, p42 . Issue 1016, December 2001, ISSN 0002-5577 , p. 42 .
- ^ Scott McClellan Hosts Ask the White House. In: The White House. National Archives , accessed August 17, 2007 .
Coordinates: 38 ° 53 '50.5 " N , 77 ° 2' 14.7" W.