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{{Short description|Structure part of the White House complex}}
{{For|the television series|The West Wing{{!}}''The West Wing''}}
[[File:Westwing commons.jpg|right|frame|The West Wing (lower right) at night in December 2006]] 
[[File:WHComplex (cropped) (2025).svg|thumb|right|upright=1.8|The West Wing is connected to the Executive Residence via the West Colonnade]]
The '''West Wing''' of the [[White House]] is the location of the office space of the [[president of the United States]].<ref name="insidethewhitehouse">{{cite web|url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/about-the-white-house/ | title=Tour the West Wing | access-date=May 25, 2013}}</ref>  The West Wing contains the [[Oval Office]],<ref name=oval>{{cite web|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/about/oval-office |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026043016/http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/oval-office |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 26, 2009 |title=The Oval Office | access-date=May 25, 2013}}</ref> the [[Cabinet Room (White House)|Cabinet Room]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/government/cabinet-room.html|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|work=[[whitehouse.gov]]|title=The Cabinet Room}}</ref> the [[White House Situation Room|Situation Room]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tysto.com/west-wing/situation-room.htm|title=Situation Room - White House Museum|website=www.whitehousemuseum.org}}</ref> and the [[Roosevelt Room]].<ref name="roos">{{Cite web|url=http://www.tysto.com/west-wing/roosevelt-room.htm|title=Roosevelt Room - White House Museum|website=www.whitehousemuseum.org}}</ref>

The West Wing's three floors include offices for the [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]], the [[White House Chief of Staff|White House chief of staff]], the [[Counselor to the President|counselor to the president]], the [[Senior Advisor to the President|senior advisor to the president]], the [[White House Press Secretary|White House press secretary]], and their support staffs. Adjoining the press secretary's office, in the [[colonnade]] between the West Wing and the [[Executive Residence]], is the [[James S. Brady Press Briefing Room]], along with workspace for the [[White House press corps]].

==History==
[[File:West-wing-1984-overview.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the West Wing with [[solar panels]] visible on the roof of the [[Cabinet Room (White House)|Cabinet Room]] in 1984.]]
[[File:White House West Wing.jpg|thumb|The main entrance on the north side in October 2007.]]
Before the construction of the West Wing, offices for the president and his staff were on the eastern end of the second floor of the [[Executive Residence]].<ref name="insidewh">{{Cite web|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-white-house/|title=The White House Building|website=The White House}}</ref> However, when [[Theodore Roosevelt]] became president, he found that the existing offices in the mansion were insufficient to accommodate his family of six children as well as his staff.<ref name="Life in the West Wing">{{Cite web|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/history/life/westwing.html|title=Life in the West Wing|website=georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov|access-date=4 March 2025}}</ref>

A year later, in 1902, First Lady [[Edith Roosevelt]] hired [[McKim, Mead & White]] to separate the living quarters from the offices, to enlarge and modernize the public rooms, to re-do the landscaping, and to redecorate the interior.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Learn-About-TR/TR-Encyclopedia/Family-and-Friends/Edith-Kermit-Carow-Roosevelt.aspx|title=TR Center - Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt|website=TheodoreRooseveltCenter.org|access-date=2016-11-30}}</ref> Congress approved over half a million dollars for the renovation.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kKfKAgAAQBAJ&q=Edith+Roosevelt&pg=PA199|title=American First Ladies: Their Lives and Their Legacy|last=Gould|first=Lewis L.|date=2014-02-04|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135311551|language=en}}</ref>

The West Wing was originally intended as a temporary office structure;<ref name="insidewh" /> the site where it was built had formerly been occupied by stables and greenhouses. The president's rectangular office and the adjacent cabinet room were located in the eastern third of the West Wing, approximately where the [[Roosevelt Room]] is now.<ref name="Seale">William Seale, ''The President's House'' (White House Historical Association, 1986), pp. 946-49.</ref>

In 1909, [[William Howard Taft]] expanded the building southward, covering the tennis court. He placed the first [[Oval Office]] at the center of the addition's south facade, reminiscent of the oval rooms in the [[Executive Residence]].<ref name=insidewh />

[[Herbert Hoover]] remodeled the West Wing early in his presidency, excavating a partial basement and supporting it with structural steel. The completed reconstruction lasted less than seven months.<ref name="Seale"/> On December 24, 1929, the West Wing was significantly damaged<ref name=oval /> by a [[Multiple-alarm fire|four-alarm fire]], the most destructive to strike the White House since the [[Burning of Washington]] 115 years earlier. Caused either by a faulty or blocked chimney [[flue]] or defective wiring, the fire began in the attic storage space where an estimated 200,000 government pamphlets quickly ignited.<ref name="Christmas Eve">Treese, Joel D. Phifer, Evan. [https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-christmas-eve-west-wing-fire-of-1929 The Christmas Eve West Wing Fire of 1929]. [[White House Historical Association]]. Retrieved June 4, 2020</ref> Fortunately, many important documents had recently been moved to the [[Library of Congress]] due to the remodeling of the West Wing.<ref name="Fire">[https://www.proquest.com/docview/104829068 "Fire Wrecks The White House Offices; Hoover Rushes from Party to Watch it; Aides Brave Smoke to save his papers".]<!-- https://www.nytimes.com/1929/12/25/archives/fire-wrecks-the-white-house-offices-hoover-rushes-from-party-to.html --> ''[[The New York Times]]''. December 25, 1929. Retrieved December 5, 2020.</ref> During 1930, Hoover had the West Wing rebuilt and added air-conditioning.<ref name="Life in the West Wing"/>

The fourth and final major reorganization was undertaken by [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. Dissatisfied with the size and layout of President Hoover's West Wing, he engaged New York architect [[Eric Gugler]] to redesign it in 1933. To create additional space without increasing the apparent size of the building, Gugler excavated a full basement, added a set of subterranean offices under the adjacent lawn,<ref>The underground offices became the Situation Room and the White House Mess. [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/thc1995012318/PP/ 1938 photo, showing courtyard lighting the underground offices] from Library of Congress.</ref> and built an unobtrusive "penthouse" storey.<ref name="Seale"/> The directive to wring the most office space out of the existing building resulted in narrow corridors and generally small staff offices. Gugler's most notable change was the addition to the east side containing a new Cabinet Room, Secretary's Office, and Oval Office.<ref name="Seale"/> The location of the new Oval Office gave presidents greater privacy, allowing them to slip back and forth between the Executive Residence and the West Wing outdoors on the covered portico, without being in the view of the staff or press indoors.<ref name=oval />

As the size of the president's staff grew over the latter half of the 20th century, the West Wing could no longer house the entire staff. Today, most of the staff members of the [[Executive Office of the President]] are located in the adjacent [[Eisenhower Executive Office Building]].

<gallery>
File:White House Office Building, and tennis court c.1909.jpg|The original West Wing and tennis court, {{Circa|1903}}.
File:West Wing between 1910 and 1920 cropped.jpg|The expanded West Wing, {{circa|1910s}}, after [[William Howard Taft|President Taft]]'s 1909 expansion covered most of the tennis court. Note the "bow" of the first Oval Office.
File:President Hoover views West Wing fire ruins 15 January 1930 cropped.jpg|[[Herbert Hoover|President [[Herbert Hoover]] views the West Wing fire ruins on January 15, 1930.
File:West-wing-1934-construction.jpg|The modern West Wing under construction, {{Circa|1933}}.
File:Oval Office Exterior.jpg|Exterior of the modern [[Oval Office]], completed in 1934.
</gallery>

==Ground floor==
The ground floor is partially a basement, as the White House was located on a hill. 
[[File:White House West Wing Ground Floor.png|thumb|Ground Floor plan]]

===Situation Room===
{{Main article|White House Situation Room}}

===White House Mess===
The West Wing ground floor is also the site of a small [[restaurant]] operated by the [[Presidential Food Service]] and staffed by [[Culinary Specialist (US Navy)|Naval culinary specialists]] and called the White House Mess.<ref>''White House Info''. This website provides detailed information about White House related topics of interest. https://whitehouse.gov1.info/white-house-mess/</ref><ref>_website of interest: ''White House Museum'' http://www.tysto.com/west-wing/mess-hall.htm</ref> It is located underneath the Oval Office, and was established by President [[Harry S. Truman|Truman]] on June 11, 1951.<ref name="allhands">{{cite news| url=http://www.navy.mil/ah_online/archpdf/ah200112.pdf#page=45 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617122232/http://www.navy.mil/ah_online/archpdf/ah200112.pdf#page=45 | url-status=dead | archive-date=June 17, 2015 | title= Dinner at 1600 - naval Mess Management Specialists on duty in White House | work =[[All Hands|publication: All Hands]] | date=December 2001 | access-date=2013-05-25 | first=Saul | last=Ingle}}</ref>
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<gallery>
File:White House Situation Room Friday May 18 2007.jpg|The Situation Room, newly renovated during the presidency of George W. Bush
File:Pumpkins decorate the Navy Mess in the West Wing.jpg|Entrance to the White House Mess, decorated for Halloween
</gallery>
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==First floor==
[[File:White House West Wing - 1st Floor.png|thumb|The first floor plan of the West Wing]]

===Cabinet Room===
{{Main article|Cabinet Room (White House)}}

===Oval Office===
{{Main article|Oval Office}}

===Press Briefing Room===
{{Main article|James S. Brady Press Briefing Room}}
During the 1930s, the [[March of Dimes]] constructed a swimming pool so that Franklin Roosevelt could exercise, as therapy for his [[polio]]-related disability. Richard Nixon had the swimming pool covered over to create the [[Press Briefing Room (White House)|Press Briefing Room]], where the [[White House Press Secretary|White House press secretary]] gives daily briefings.<ref name=ww>{{cite web| url=http://www.tysto.com/west-wing.htm |title=West Wing of the White House}}</ref>

===Roosevelt Room===
{{Main article|Roosevelt Room}}
Originally this space was the office of [[Theodore Roosevelt]], but later it was converted into a meeting room. It became known as the "Fish Room" because Franklin D. Roosevelt kept an [[aquarium]] there and because both he and [[John F. Kennedy]] displayed trophy fish on the walls.

In 1969, [[Richard Nixon]] renamed the room in honor of the two presidents Roosevelt: Theodore, who first constructed the West Wing, and Franklin, who built the current Oval Office. By tradition, a portrait of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] hangs over the mantel of the [[Roosevelt Room]]<ref name=roos /> during the administration of a president from the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] and a portrait of [[Theodore Roosevelt]] hangs during the administration of a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] president (although [[Bill Clinton]] chose to retain the portrait of Theodore Roosevelt above the mantel). In the past, the portrait not hanging over the mantel was displayed on the opposite wall. However, during the first term of [[George W. Bush]], an audio-visual cabinet was placed on the opposite wall to provide secure audio and visual conference capabilities across the hall from the Oval Office.

===West Colonnade===
In 2025, [[Donald Trump]] unveiled the Presidential Walk of Fame on the West Colonnade. The Walk features black-and-white photographs of the 47 presidents in gold frames, except for one. In place of [[Joe Biden]], Trump added a photograph of an [[autopen#U.S. presidents|autopen]], in a snub to his predecessor.<ref>{{cite news|title=Trump snubs Biden with autopen photo on new Presidential Walk of Fame|url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-presidential-portraits-biden-autopen-white-house-e8624154e72631e723930ea549bb8910|work=AP News|date=25 September 2025}}</ref>

===White House press corps===
{{Main article|White House press corps}}
The [[journalists]], [[correspondents]], and others who are part of the White House press corps have offices near the press briefing room.

{{clear}}
<gallery>
File:Entrance of the West Wing under snow.jpg|Entrance, 2009.
File:Exterior of the White House West wing 001.jpg|Exterior, 2022.
File:Bush - 2007-10-17 press release.jpg|James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, 2007. Formerly, the swimming pool.
File:President Donald Trump poses with members of the U.S. delegation in the West Wing Lobby of the White House (54571291409).jpg|Lobby, 2025.
File:Photograph of President Reagan and Vice-President Bush eating lunch in the Oval Office Private Dining Room - NARA - 198591.tiff|Private Dining Room, 1988
File:George W. Bush meets in Roosevelt Room October 20, 2006.jpg|Roosevelt Room, 2006
File:Watching flight of Astronaut Shepard on television. Attorney General Kennedy, McGeorge Bundy, Vice President Johnson... - NARA - 194236.jpg|Secretary's Office, 1961
File:Vice President Kamala Harris meets with emerging labor leaders in her West Wing Office of the White House (V20230717LJ-0301).jpg|Vice President's Office, 2023.
File:Trump and Conway walking at West Wing Colonnade in 2019.jpg|West Wing Colonnade, 2019.
</gallery>
{{clear}}

==Second floor==
[[File:West Wing 2nd Floor.png|thumb|left|Second Floor plan]]
{{clear}}

==Depiction on ''The West Wing'' TV series==
{{main article|The West Wing}}
In 1999, ''The West Wing'' television series brought greater public attention to the workings of the presidential staff, as well as to the location of those working in the West Wing. The show followed the working lives of a fictional Democratic U.S. president, [[Josiah Bartlet]], and his senior staff. When asked whether the show accurately captured the working environment in 2003, Press Secretary [[Scott McClellan]] commented that the show portrayed more foot traffic and larger rooms than in the real West Wing.<ref>{{cite web | title=Scott McClellan Hosts Ask the White House | url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/ask/20031118.html |date=November 18, 2003 | via=[[NARA|National Archives]] | work=[[whitehouse.gov]] | access-date=2007-08-17}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.tysto.com/west-wing.htm White House Museum: West Wing], with floorplan and historical images
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110402042159/http://www.nationaljournal.com/closer-look-inside-obama-s-west-wing-20110325 West Wing Interactive], from ''National Journal Magazine''

{{White House|state=expanded}}
{{Theodore Roosevelt}}
{{McKim, Mead & White}}

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[[Category:White House]]
[[Category:McKim, Mead & White buildings]]