A friend of mine from high school 4H Drama Company works for President Obama. I haven’t seen Missy (now more dignified known as Melissa) since we were about 16. So that’s like 17 years. Thanks to Facebook, we reconnected last year. She had lunch with Joe when he first came to DC, and on Tuesday night, Joe invited her over for supper. She in turn, invited us on a tour of the West Wing of the White House. Holy cow, YES! So after a great evening spent reconnecting, we drove downtown, went through multiple layers of security, and got to peer around the halls where our country is run.
Here’s a little background on the West Wing (source site):
President Theodore Roosevelt had a “temporary” office building constructed in 1902 to separate his office from the living quarters, where his wife and six children lived. Until then, what is now the Treaty Room on the second floor of the White House was at various times the Cabinet Room or the President’s Office.
Following a Christmas Eve fire in 1929, renovations and restoration displaced Herbert Hoover for several months while new and improved facilities were built. In 1934 the Oval Office was moved to its current location on the southeast corner, over-looking the Rose Garden. In the 1940’s, the building became known as the “West Wing.”
We entered the West Wing on the ground floor through the foyer on the west.
No photography was allowed in the West Wing, so in order to give you a visual tour, I’m using photos found elsewhere (click on the images to see their home). In most cases, things the rooms look just like we saw them…with the major exception that there were not heads of state working while we were touring!
After going through a final level of security, we got to walk through the lobby (shown here with Pres. Obama, who was not in fact in the building when we were visiting).
We took a peek into the Navy Mess, saw the door to the Situation Room, and headed past the photo offices to the stairwell to the second floor.
While we saw the door to the Situation Room, the tour didn’t extend there. However, I found a nice video tour if you’re interested!
The walls are bedecked with photos of the president by the amazing photojournalist Pete Souza. You can see many of these images on the White House Flickr stream. What I wouldn’t give to work with and learn from Mr. Souza! I’m amazed at the crispness with which he can capture emotion and connections on the fly. Speaking of which, I also admire photographer Callie Shell, who photographed Obama in the days leading up to the 2008 election.
Here’s a picture showing the stairway with similar photos from Pres. Bush’s term.
On the second floor (click for a larger version), we came up the stairs just to the west of the Cabinet Room.
From there, we walked down the short hallway and looked into the Cabinet Room.
Here’s a video about the Cabinet room. It was so cool to stand in that hall and know that people with such huge decision making powers have stood and sat right there.
A few steps more, and we were gazing into the real Oval Office. It was lit by cove lighting rimming the ceiling, and the effect was one of amazing brightness…almost like it was daylight. This room, full of such history, really took my breath away.
The Resolute Desk
“Every president since Hayes, except Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford has used the desk. It was a present from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880 and was built from the timbers of the Resolute – a British Navy sailing ship.”
“In August 2010, the Oval Office was refurbished for President Obama with striped wallpaper, new sofas, and a mica-clad coffee table. An oval rug features the presidential seal and historical quotes of meaning to President Obama around the border.”
Norman Rockwell’s painting Statue of Liberty and Frederic Remington’s sculpture Bronco Buster which sit to the right of the president’s desk. The table behind the President’s desk is filled with family photos.
The ceiling is itself a lovely work of art, and features elements of the Seal of the President.
To the left, you can see the Childe Hassam painting Avenue in the Rain (1917) is part of the White House’s own collection, donated during the Kennedy administration.
We were peeking in the room through the door shown on the left. The door on the right leads to the President’s secretary and then back to the Cabinet Room. Above the fire place hangs a portrait of George Washington. On the tables on the back left and right are busts of Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln.
Instead of a vase of flowers, Pres. Obama has decided to keep a bowl of apples.
Here’s a little online tour I found of the Oval Office.
Directly across the hallway from the Oval Office is the Roosevelt Room. Since the Cabinet Room is only used for meeting of the Cabinet, the Roosevelt Room is used for most other larger meetings. We stood where this photo was taken. The flags represent (from left to right) the USA, the Office of the President, and then the different branches of the military in order of when they were created. The banners on each flag indicate how many theaters of war each military branch has been in.
And another view. The door to the right leads to the corridor looking at the Oval Office.
Down the hall to the lobby is a large, three-part Norman Rockwell painting called So You Want to See the President from 1943. So detailed and fascinating!
Then we got to look around the main lobby. Neat to think of all the people who have passed through that way. One thing that made my heart my heart go pitter pat was learning that George Clooney has sat in this lobby. Be still my shaky knees!
Here we’re exiting out the main lobby doors. This is probably where most high-clearance personnel enter the West Wing.
Just outside the foyer shown above, we posed for some photos (since we were now in a photography-approved zone). Here’s me and Joe.
And here’s my friend and our guide, Melissa!
After touring the West Wing, Missy took us to see her office in the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
It was about 10pm by this time…
Here’s the sign on her door.
And here’s the girl herself, hard at work. She runs the White House Intern program, and it sounds like it’s a great job that requires some kinda crazy hours:)
Missy, thank you for this incredible experience. More than that the tour, though, I’m just glad to have had the opportunity to spend a little time together again. Birthday Buddy, you’re one fun and cool person. Cheers to you!