West Wing

The West Wing (English for West Wing ) as part of the White House Complex of the wing in which the official offices of the President of the United States of America are housed. Is the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, the Situation Room, and the Roosevelt Room in him. On three floors, the offices of the senior members of the Executive Office and its employees are located.

The West Wing is located directly west of the Executive Residence. Since it is lower than the rest of the White House Complex, he is largely shielded by trees from outer looks.

History

In 1902, then-President Theodore Roosevelt was a renovation of the White House in order, which he suggested a single-storey extension of the White House to the west and east. As a result, the Executive Office Building was built. William Howard Taft was in 1909 Enlarge this building and remodel the interior, whereby the Oval Office was created. Taft was the first president of the United States of America, the Office worked in the oval.

On Christmas Eve 1929, the Executive Office Building badly damaged by fire. President Herbert Hoover learned of it during the Christmas party of the White House and left the party to coordinate the rescue of documents from the Oval Office. The ceremony was not canceled, the chapel was instead instructed to play upbeat music. In addition, his wife stayed behind to maintain the mood. After Hoover had been brought by the Secret Service for security from the Oval Office, he positioned himself on the nearby greenhouse and went to bed until midnight. Clock at 7:27 local time on December 25, 1929, the fire was officially reported as deleted. After the fire, Hoover had to rearrange the building and replace the roof, but no significant changes have been made.

Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the space for offices of 15,000 square feet (ca. 1400 m ) expanded to 40,000 square feet ( 3700 m²). Eric Gugler worked as an architect on the renovation. It was built a second floor, as well as an enlarged underground office. The position of the Oval Office was changed from south to south-east, as Roosevelt criticized a lack of privacy. Due to the change in position of the Oval Office, he was able to move between the White House and the West Wing without being seen by the entire staff of the West Wing. The organization March of Dimes funded a swimming pool for the President, so that he could train yourself against his disease. Is now located at the position of swimming pools in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.

During the tenure of Roosevelt, the term West Wing was the common name for the building part of the White House Complex. The official renaming took place only in 1949 to avoid confusion with the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Between 1969 and 1970, other official offices were built, where the reception lobby has been reduced in size. 2006, the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room was renovated, and the Situation Room was enlarged in the same year and renovated. Beginning of April 2011 began a renovation of underground utilities, also heating, air conditioning and fire protection equipment was replaced. 2011, the construction was scheduled for four years, from 376 million U.S. dollars 86 million U.S. dollars provided solely for the West Wing.

On the ground floor of the West Wing, there is a cafeteria, which is below the Oval Office and 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 square meters. It was established shortly after the Cuban missile crisis and serves as a conference room for crises.

Representation in the television series The West Wing - The West Wing

A greater public awareness of the work of the staff of the President and the West Wing The West Wing itself The series followed the lives of the fictional Democratic President Josiah Bartlet, and his senior staff - Between 1999 and 2006 brought the television series The West Wing. When asked the press secretary Scott McClellan in 2003, whether the shipment is the work environment accurately commented that the series show long walking and larger rooms than the actual piano.