The Office of the President

The Oval Office is the president's formal workspace, where he confers with heads of state, diplomats, his staff, and other dignitaries; where he often addresses the American public and the world on television or radio; and where he deals with the issues of the day.

Size of the room:

• Long axis: 35' 10" (10.9m)
• Short axis: 29' (8.8m)
• Height: 18' 6" (5.6m)

History of the Executive Office

Prior to the construction of the "temporary Executive Office building" in 1902, the president worked out of the Residence, generally in what is now the Lincoln Bedroom. The first West Wing office was Theodore Roosevelt's office, which was a conventional rectangular room in the location of the current Roosevelt Room.

In 1909, William Howard Taft had the West Wing expanded and extensively remodeled. He located the chief executive's office in the middle of the building and changed its shape to oval, like the Blue Room in the White House. Furnishing it were silk velvet curtains and a checkerboard floor made of mahajua wood from the Philippines. Caribou hide tacked with brass studs covered the chairs in the room. President Taft chose the olive green color scheme.

For President Taft, an oval office may have symbolized his view of the modern-day president. Taft intended to be the center of his administration, and by creating the Oval Office in the center of the West Wing, he was more involved with the day-to-day operation of his presidency than were his recent predecessors.

When the West Wing caught fire in 1929, the original Oval Office was gutted. It was rebuilt, but Franklin Roosevelt chose to renovate and further expand the West Wing to accommodate additional staff in 1933. He moved the Oval Office to the southeast corner for better light, a higher ceiling (there is no second story over the modern Oval Office or the Cabinet Room), and easier travel back and forth to the Residence. Since its completion in 1934, the modern Oval Office has changed very little except in its furnishings.

Heritage

Over the years Americans developed a sentimental attachment to the Oval Office through memorable images. Television broadcasts from the Oval Office, such as President Reagan's speech following the Challenger explosion, would leave lasting impressions in the minds of Americans of both the office and its occupant.

Each president has decorated the Oval Office to suit his tastes. Among the features that remain constant are the white marble mantel from the original 1909 Oval Office, the presidential seal in the ceiling, and the two flags behind the president's desk—the US flag and the president's flag. President George W Bush has selected several paintings depicting Texas scenes by Texas artists for his office. Many are on loan from museums in San Antonio and El Paso.

The President's Desk

(Detailed article)

Many presidents have used the famous Resolute desk in the Oval Office. This desk was made from wood taken from the ship HMS Resolute and was given to President Rutherford Hayes by Queen Victoria of England in 1880.

The President’s Floor

Since its original construction in 1934 under Franklin Roosevelt, there have been four floors in the Oval Office. The original floor was made of cork. However, Dwight Eisenhower was an avid golfer and destroyed the floor with his golf spikes. Lyndon Johnson had the floor replaced in the mid-1960s with wood-grain linoleum. In 1982, fed up with the linoleum floor, Ronald Reagan had the floor replaced by the same contractors who had put the floor into his ranch in California with white pine and oak in a wagon-wheel pattern. In August of 2005, the floor was replaced again under George W Bush in almost exactly the same pattern as the Reagan floor.

Most presidents have commissioned a new rug and drapes, but two presidents chose not to change the decor: Eisenhower and Carter. Kennedy's new decor was just being installed the day he was assassinated.