Eisenhower Executive Office Building

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Eishenhower Executive Office Building
President William Howard Taft's prized Holstein cow, Pauline Wayne, poses in front of the Navy Building, known today as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Eisenhower Executive Office Building is located in the District of Columbia
Eisenhower Executive Office Building
LocationPennsylvania Ave. and 17th St., NW
Washington, D.C.
Built1871
ArchitectAlfred B. Mullett
NRHP reference No.69000293
Added to NRHPJune 4, 1969

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) was formally known as the Old Executive Office Building (OEXOB), and originally was built as the State, War, and Navy Building. It is owned by General Services Adminstration and occupied by the Office of Adminstration/Executive Office of the President. It is located on 17th Street, N.W., between Pennsylvania Avenue and New York Avenue, and West Executive Drive in Washington, D.C.

According to the National Register of Historic Places, the Old Executive Office Building, a National Historic Landmark, was built between 1871 and 1888. Designed by Alfred B. Mullett, Supervising Architect, in the French Second Empire-style, the building housed the Departments of State, War, and Navy. Much of the interior was designed by Richard von Ezdorf using fireproof cast-iron structural and decorative elements. The original tenants of the building quickly out grew the the building and finally vacated the building comlpletely in the late 1930's. The building gradually became seen as inefficient and was nearly demolished in 1957. In 1981, plans began to restore all the secretary of suites. The main office of the Secretary of Navy was restored in 1987 and is now used as the ceremonial office of Dick Cheney. Several comprehensive studies have been conducted to modernize the building but not implemented. Shortly after Septermber 11, 2001 the 17th Street side of the building was vacated and plans for modernization began for this vacated space. The building continues to house various agencies that compose the President's Executive Office, such as the Office of the Vice President, the Office of Management and Budget, and the National Security Council. However, its predominant purpose is that of the Vice President's Ceremonial Office, used mainly for special meetings and press conferences.[1]

Many celebrated national figures have participated in the historical events that have taken place within the Old Executive Office Building's granite walls. Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald Ford, and George H. W. Bush all had offices in this building before becoming President. It has housed 16 Secretaries of the Navy, 21 Secretaries of War, and 24 Secretaries of State. Winston Churchill once walked its corridors and Japanese emissaries met there with Secretary of State Cordell Hull after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. President Herbert Hoover occupied the Secretary of the Navy's office for a few months following a fire in the Oval Office on Christmas Eve, 1929. Dwight D. Eisenhower held the first televised Presidential news conference in the building's Indian Treaty Room in January 1955. [2] In recent history, Richard Nixon had a private office there during his presidency. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was the first in a succession of Vice Presidents to the present day that have had offices in the building.[1]

A small fire on December 19, 2007 damaged an office of the vice-president's staff and included the VP ceremonial office. .[3] [4][5] According to media reporting, the office of the Vice President's Political Director, Amy Whitelaw, was heavily damaged in the fire.[6]


Gallery

  • Old Executive Office Building
    Old Executive Office Building
  • Old Executive Office Building, decorated for Christmas
    Old Executive Office Building, decorated for Christmas
  • View of the SW corner of the building, at night.
    View of the SW corner of the building, at night.
  • Plaque on fence outside the Old Executive Building
    Plaque on fence outside the Old Executive Building
  • Protesters march in front of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, September 24, 2005
    Protesters march in front of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, September 24, 2005
  • First fire trucks arriving during 2007 fire at the OEOB.
    First fire trucks arriving during 2007 fire at the OEOB.

References

  1. ^ a b "Vice President's Ceremonial Office". United States Government. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  2. ^ "Indian Treaty Room". United States Government. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  3. ^ DailyKos Diary. Accessed December 19, 2007.
  4. ^ MSNBC News services, Fire on White House grounds under control: Hundreds evacuated after blaze breaks out close to VP's ceremonial office, found at MSNBC.com. Accessed December 19, 2007.
  5. ^ FoxNews Clip (Redlasso) Accessed December 19, 2007.
  6. ^ "Cheney's Office Damaged in Fire". WTOPNews.com. Retrieved 2008-03-01.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
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