List of Oval Office desks explained

Since the construction of the Oval Office in 1909, there have been six different desks used in the office by the president of the United States.[1] The desk usually sits in front of the south wall of the Oval Office, which is composed of three large windows, has an executive chair behind, and has chairs for advisors placed to either side or in front.[2] Each president uses the Oval Office, and the desk in it, differently. It is widely used ceremonially for photo opportunities and press announcements. Some presidents, such as Richard Nixon, used the desk in this room only for these ceremonial purposes, while others, including Dwight D. Eisenhower used it as their main workspace.[3]

The first desk used in the Oval Office was the Theodore Roosevelt desk. The desk currently in use by Joe Biden is the Resolute desk. Of the six desks that have occupied the Oval Office, the Resolute has spent the longest time in the room, having been used by eight presidents. The Resolute has been used by John F. Kennedy and by all U.S. presidents since 1977 with the exception of George H. W. Bush. Bush used the C&O desk for his one term, making it the shortest-serving desk to date. Other past presidents have used the Hoover desk, the Johnson desk, and the Wilson desk.

The process for choosing a desk is not standardized and different presidents chose desks for different reasons. A few presidents have made public through interviews or papers in their presidential libraries how their choice was made. A 1974 memo explaining the desk options Gerald Ford could choose from is held at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Jimmy Carter wrote about choosing a desk as his first official presidential decision in his memoir ,[4] and in an interview with Chris Wallace, Donald Trump described that there are seven desks to choose from and that he chose the Resolute desk due to its history and beauty.[5] Joe Biden explained in an interview with Architectural Digest that in suburban Maryland there is a facility with a replica Oval Office where interior decorators can test out the placement of furnishings before they are moved into the actual Oval Office on inauguration day.[6]

History

The first Oval Office was constructed as part of the expansion of the West Wing to the White House in 1909 under president William Howard Taft.[7] The room was designed by Nathan C. Wyeth who chose the Charles Follen McKim designed Theodore Roosevelt desk, which was first used by Theodore Roosevelt in the previous executive office, for the new office space.[8] This desk remained in use by subsequent presidents until, on December 24, 1929, a fire severely damaged the West Wing during President Herbert Hoover's administration.[9] [10]

Hoover reconstructed the part of the White House affected, including the Oval Office, reopening them in 1930. With the repair, Hoover was gifted a suite of 17 furniture pieces including a new desk, known as the Hoover desk, by an association of Grand Rapids, Michigan furniture-makers.[11] This new desk was used for the rest of Hoover's term in office and by Franklin D. Roosevelt for his presidency.[12] Roosevelt had the West Wing expanded during his time in office including the construction of a new Oval Office.[13] After Roosevelt died in office, the Hoover desk was given to his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Theodore Roosevelt desk was brought back to the newly rebuilt Oval Office in 1945 by then president Harry S. Truman and subsequently used by Dwight Eisenhower.[12]

John F. Kennedy briefly used the Theodore Roosevelt desk before it was switched out in 1961 for the Resolute desk. Jacqueline Kennedy, John F. Kennedy's wife, thought the more ornately carved Resolute desk should be the most visible presidential desk.[14] [15]

Upon Kennedy's assassination in 1963, the Resolute desk was sent on a national tour, and his successor Lyndon B. Johnson elected to use the desk he had used as a senator and as vice president.[16] [17] When Johnson left office the desk he used was sent to his presidential library.[18] When Richard Nixon became president he brought the Wilson desk, which he had used as vice president, and it remained in the Oval Office when Gerald Ford took over after Nixon's resignation.[19]

Jimmy Carter returned the Resolute desk to the Oval Office in 1977.[20] The desk has since been used in that room by every president other than George H. W. Bush who elected to go with the C&O desk, the desk he had used as vice president.[21] Doro Bush Koch, one of George Bush's children, suggests Bush's choice to use his vice presidential desk may have been due to a perceived tradition of vice presidents that ascend to the presidency using their vice presidential desks.[22] The C&O Desk remained as part of the White House collection after Bush left office, according to Jay Patton, the supervisory curator of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.[23] Joe Biden, the next vice president to become president, did not follow this perceived tradition and continued using the Resolute desk.[24] Biden would have preferred to use the Hoover desk previously used by Franklin Roosevelt, but it could not be relocated from Roosevelt's presidential library in Hyde Park, New York.[25]

Desks by president

Below is a table noting each of the six desks ever used in the Oval Office, including the name they are most commonly known by, the presidents that used the desk, a description, and the desk's current location.

DeskOval Office tenantWorkspace dimensionsNotesCurrent locationPicture
Theodore Roosevelt desk90inchesby53.5inchesin (byin)This desk was created in 1903 for then President Theodore Roosevelt. It was first used in the Oval Office by William Howard Taft and remained there until the West Wing fire in 1929. It remained in storage until 1945 when Harry S. Truman placed it in the modern Oval Office. Richard Nixon used this desk in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building where Stephen Hess of the Brookings Institution presumes, "the Watergate tapes were made by an apparatus concealed in its drawer".Vice President's Ceremonial Office,
Eisenhower Executive Office Building,
Washington, D.C.[26]
Hoover desk82.5inchesby45.5inchesin (byin)[27] A December 24, 1929 fire severely damaged the West Wing, including the Oval Office. President Herbert Hoover accepted the donation of a new desk from a group of Grand Rapids, Michigan, furniture-makers and used it as his Oval Office desk after the new office was completed.[28] [29] Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum,
Hyde Park, New York
Resolute desk72inchesby48inchesin (byin)This desk was created from wood salvaged from and given to Rutherford B. Hayes by Queen Victoria in 1879.[30] It had a hinged front panel added to it by Franklin D. Roosevelt. The desk resided in the White House in various rooms, until Jacqueline Kennedy found it languishing in the "White House broadcast room". She had it restored and moved into the Oval Office. After Kennedy's death, the desk was removed for a traveling exhibition, returning to the Oval Office under Jimmy Carter in 1977. It has been the Oval Office desk ever since with the exception of the George H.W. Bush presidential years.Oval Office,
The White House,
Washington, D.C.[31]
Johnson desk75.5inchesby45.5inchesin (byin)[32] This desk was used by Johnson from the time he was in the United States Senate up through his tenure in the Oval Office.[33] It is one of only two desks to date, along with the C&O desk, to serve only one president.Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum,
Austin, Texas
Wilson desk80.75inchesby58.25inchesin (byin)Nixon used this desk both as vice president and president, because he believed that it had been used by President Woodrow Wilson. Actually, the desk had not been used by Woodrow Wilson or by Vice President Henry Wilson.Vice President's Room,
United States Capitol,
Washington, D.C.[34]
C&O deskUnknownGeorge H. W. Bush used this desk during his tenure as both vice president and president of the United States. It was created for the owners of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway around 1920 and subsequently donated to the White House. Previously, Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan had used it in the West Wing Study.White House collection

Chronology

Below is a table noting the desk used for each presidency since the Oval Office was created in 1909.

Chronology of Oval Office desks! Presidency! President! Desk
27William Howard TaftTheodore Roosevelt desk
28Woodrow Wilson
29Warren G. Harding
30Calvin Coolidge
31Herbert Hoover
Hoover desk
32Franklin D. Roosevelt
33Harry S. TrumanTheodore Roosevelt desk
34Dwight D. Eisenhower
35John F. KennedyResolute desk
36Lyndon B. JohnsonJohnson desk
37Richard NixonWilson desk
38Gerald Ford
39Jimmy CarterResolute desk
40Ronald Reagan
41George H. W. BushC&O desk
42Bill ClintonResolute desk
43George W. Bush
44Barack Obama
45Donald Trump
46Joe Biden

Pre-Oval Office executive desks

The executive office of the president of the United States has moved multiple times before the Oval Office was created in 1909. George Washington first worked from Federal Hall, in New York City, following his inauguration in 1789.[35] In 1790 Washington moved, with the federal government, to Philadelphia where he worked out of a second floor office in President's House, the executive mansion at the time.[36] Washington called this room his "study", Abigail Adams called it the "President's Room", and John Adams called it his "cabinet". John Adams continued using President's House in the same way through 1800 when he moved into the White House in Washington, D.C.[37] where he kept a small office next to his bedroom.[38] Early space usage in the White House is hazy, but Thomas Jefferson kept an office in what is now the State Dining Room, and an inventory of the White House shows that James Monroe had a room on the second floor with a desk, but it was not strictly used as an office. Every president from John Quincy Adams to William McKinley used a suite of rooms centering on what is now known as the Lincoln Bedroom as their office.

Several notable desks were used by presidents in these executive offices. The following table lists these furniture pieces.

Desk Presidential tenant(s)NotesCurrent locationPicture
Washington's writing deskUsed by Washington in Federal Hall. After Federal Hall was demolished in 1812, the desk found its way to Bellevue Almshouse. This "horrified" the City Council who had it moved to the Governor's Room in 1844 where it has remained since.[39] Governor's Room,
New York City Hall,
New York
Washington's presidential deskUsed by Washington in his office in President's House, the executive mansion at the time. This desk is now in the collection of the Philadelphia History Museum which has been closed to the public since 2018.[40] Philadelphia History Museum,
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania[41]
Declaration of Independence DeskThis portable desk made by Benjamin Randolph was used by Thomas Jefferson as he wrote the United States Declaration of Independence. Jefferson continued to use this desk through his time as president.[42] [43] American Democracy exhibition,
National Museum of American History,
Washington, D.C.
Monroe Doctrine deskAll of the White House's furniture was destroyed during the Burning of Washington. When Monroe moved into the rebuilt presidential mansion he brought many of his own personal furnishings to use in the building.[44] This fall front desk is one of several pieces of furniture purchased by Monroe when he was in France between 1794 and 1796. While there are no documents proving this, family legend holds that the president wrote the Monroe Doctrine sitting at this desk. A secret compartment within the desk containing correspondences was discovered in the early 20th century. First Lady Lou Henry Hoover saw the desk in the 1930s and was so taken with the desk she had a replica created and placed in the White House.[45] James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library,
Fredericksburg,
Virginia[46]
Desk in the room east of the upstairs oval room John Quincy Adams had an inventory made of the White House after he became president. This inventory notes a desk in the room east of the upstairs oval room which is assumed to be where his office was.[47] ?
Andrew Jackson's stand-up desk
"A tall awkward desk"[48] with pigeonholes was used by Andrew Jackson in the White House. During the rearrangement of the presidential office rooms in 1865, following the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the desk was removed from the building and sent off to auction. Andrew Johnson ordered it be returned saying "What ever was Old Hickory's I revere".[49] The desk was still in use in the presidential office during Rutherford B. Hayes's term. It was eventually auctioned off in 1882 with other White House furnishings, under Chester A. Arthur's watch, to make way for new design elements in the building.[50] ?
Buchanan’s Teakwood DeskThis intricately carved pedestal desk was given to Buchanan, upon winning the presidential nomination in 1856, from friends that lived in India he had met while he was Minister to Russia in the 1830s. Buchanan had the desk shipped to the White House so it would be there when he arrived on his first day as President.[51] Sitting Room,
Wheatland,
Lancaster, Pennsylvania[52]
TableLincoln's office was located in the southeastern upstairs corner of the White House. While a large "council table" was the centerpiece of the room, a second table was located at the southern end which Lincoln used as his desk.[53] ?
Patent Revolving SecretaryJulia Dent Grant, unhappy with the furnishings of the White House, received a $25,000 appropriation from congress to update the interiors. While redecorating the cabinet room she purchased a "Patent Revolving Secretary", from Pottier & Stymus.[54] This secretary was a patent Wooton desk with a carved eagle and shield on its cornice.[55] The secretary was later sold to Webb Hayes for $10 who had used it when he was the personal secretary to his father, Rutherford B. Hayes. By 1969 the secretary was back in the White House collection and was loaned to the Smithsonian.White House collection
Resolute deskAfter receiving the desk in 1880, President Hayes placed it in the Green Room on exhibition until it was taken upstairs to his office on the second floor.[56] Grover Cleveland used the desk in his office and library in what is now the Yellow Oval Room for both of his non-consecutive terms,[57] [58] William McKinley used the desk often in the Presidential Office and had a bouquet of flowers placed upon it every day,[59] and Theodore Roosevelt used it in the President's Room, today's Lincoln Bedroom.[60] Oval Office,
The White House,
Washington, D.C.[61]
Secretary deskThe design of the White House was not to Arthur's taste. He had unfashionable and damaged furniture removed, selling off twenty-four wagon loads of furniture and thirty barrels of china. He then commissioned Associated Artists, where Louis Comfort Tiffany was a partner, to redesign several rooms.[62] The White House Historical Association claims no furniture was commissioned at this time, but an 1881 news article in the Richmond Item noted that a new desk had been created for the president.[63] An 1882 ad notes this desk is a Wooton Desk in the secretary style, in use by President Arthur, and includes a quote from colonel Almon F. Rockwell noting a carved coronet in the top guard.[64] ?

References

Works cited

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Andriotis . Mary Elizabeth . 2021-01-19 . Joe Biden Chooses the Resolute Desk for His Oval Office . 2021-08-02 . Yahoo! News.
  2. Web site: Fallows . James . 2017-08-27 . Readers on What Trump's Office Decor Reveals About His Leadership . 2021-08-02 . . en.
  3. Web site: Hess . Stephen . 2009-01-08 . What Now? The Oval Office . . en-US.
  4. Book: Jimmy Carter . Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President . October 1, 1982 . Bantam Books . 978-1-61075-223-7 . 24.
  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wddAMf_HNA "Trump gives Chris Wallace a tour of the Oval Office"
  6. Web site: Inside The White House With President Joe Biden . 2023-12-22 . 2023-12-23 . Architectural Digest.
  7. Web site: The East and West Wings of the White House . 2020-12-04 . . en.
  8. Web site: Monkman . Betty C. . The White House Collection: The Beaux Arts Furnishing of 1902 . 2020-12-04 . White House Historical Association.
  9. Web site: Treese . Joel D. . Phifer . Evan . The Christmas Eve West Wing Fire of 1929 . 2020-06-04 . White House Historical Association.
  10. https://search.proquest.com/docview/104829068 "Fire Wrecks The White House Offices; Hoover Rushes from Party to Watch it; Aides Brave Smoke to save his papers".
  11. http://www.furniturecityhistory.org/article/3971/president-hoovers-executive-of President Hoover's Executive Office Suite
  12. https://fdr.blogs.archives.gov/2020/05/27/artifact-highlight-fdrs-oval-office-desk/ Artifact Highlight: FDR's Oval Office Desk
  13. Seale, William. The President's House. pp. 946–49.
  14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpn_JKc2UE8 Mrs. Kennedy's decision to move the Resolute Desk into the Oval Office
  15. McNamara, Robert. The Resolute Desk Elaborately Carved Presidential Desk Was a Gift From Queen Victoria. ThoughtCo. October 31, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  16. News: November 27, 1963. Johnson Moves Into White House's Oval Office; Also Installs Own Rocker, Pictures and Desk as Red Carpet Is Rolled Out. 16. The New York Times. subscription. December 12, 2020. .
  17. http://www.lbjlibrary.org/exhibits/artifacts-in-the-oval-office "Artifacts in the Oval Office"
  18. Web site: Hess. Stephen. January 8, 2009. What Now? The Oval Office. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200803084031/https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-now-the-oval-office/. August 3, 2020. November 30, 2020. Brookings Institution.
  19. https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/resources/pdf/Vice_President_s_Room.pdf The Vice President's Room
  20. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/treasures-of-the-white-house-resolute-desk "Treasures of the White House: "Resolute" desk"
  21. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-16-mn-2266-story.html NATION : Bush Replaces Kennedy's Desk
  22. [Dorothy Bush Koch|Bush Koch, Doro.]
  23. Patton, Jay, ed. The Oval Office in the Bush Era, College Station, Texas, George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, 2022. Artifact Collection
  24. Linskey, Annie. "A look inside Biden’s Oval Office". The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  25. Book: Whipple, Chris . The fight of his life : inside Joe Biden's White House . 2023 . . 978-1-9821-0643-0 . New York . Chapter Six: When Is This Going to Crest? . 1333841502.
  26. https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-grounds/the-vice-presidents-residence-office/ The Vice President’s Residence & Office
  27. https://fdr.artifacts.archives.gov/objects/3849/oval-office-desk-used-by-franklin-roosevelt?ctx=a9261747bb0519de294ad0da285c4f378f26a6c0&idx=9 Oval Office Desk Used by Franklin Roosevelt
  28. Seale, William. The President's House. p. 918.
  29. http://www.furniturecityhistory.org/article/3971/president-hoovers-executive-of President Hoover's Executive Office
  30. Web site: The President's Desk. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. September 9, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20110613021520/http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Miscellaneous-Information/Desk.aspx. June 13, 2011.
  31. Linskey, Annie. A look inside Biden’s Oval Office. The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  32. Web site: Desk, Flat-Top Partner. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201127035441/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/artifact/Decorative_arts/Furniture/Desks_Tables/65_00118.htm. November 27, 2020. August 2, 2021. United States Senate.
  33. http://www.lbjlibrary.org/museum/permanent-collection/white-house.html The White House
  34. https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/decorative-art/furniture/65_00036.htm Desk, Flat-Top
  35. Web site: Federal Hall . 2023-01-03 . National Park Service.
  36. The President's House in Philadelphia: The Rediscovery of a Lost Landmark . . Lawler Jr. . Edward . 2002-01-01 . 1 . 126 . 5–95 . 20093505 . JSTOR. p. 27.
  37. The President's House in Philadelphia: The Rediscovery of a Lost Landmark . . Lawler Jr. . Edward . 2002-01-01 . 1 . 126 . 5–95 . 20093505 . JSTOR. p. 52.
  38. Web site: Classroom Resource Packet: The President's Office . 2022-01-03 . White House Historical Association .
  39. Web site: The Desk of George Washington Inside NYC City Halls Governor Room . 2022-07-04 . Untapped New York . Young . Michelle. 17 May 2017 .
  40. Web site: Historical Society pushes back on plan to transfer Philly History Museum to Drexel University . 2022-02-28 . 2022-07-04 . . Crimmins . Peter.
  41. Web site: Special Collections . 2022-07-04 . Philadelphia History Museum.
  42. Web site: Declaration of Independence Desk . 2022-07-04 . National Museum of American History.
  43. Web site: History Was Writ Large on This Desk Belonging to Thomas Jefferson . 2017-07-06 . 2022-07-04 . . Boissoneault . Lorraine.
  44. Whitcomb, John; Whitcomb, Claire. Real Life at the White House. p.43.
  45. Web site: "Articles of the Best Kind" . 2022-07-04 . . Harris . Scott H. . Kearney . Jarod.
  46. Web site: Collections . 2022-07-04 . James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library.
  47. Seale, William. The President's House. p. 183.
  48. Book: Lately, Thomas . The first President Johnson; the three lives of the seventeenth President of the United States of America . . 1968 . New York . 530 .
  49. Seale, William. The President's House. p. 426.
  50. Seale, William. The President's House. p. 538.
  51. Web site: From India to The White House to Wheatland: The Journey of the Presidential Desk . 2021-06-02 . 2023-04-21 . Lancaster History . Celiberti . Stephanie.
  52. Web site: Desk . 2023-04-21 . Lancaster History.
  53. Web site: Lincoln at his Desk . 2023-04-26 . White House Historical Association.
  54. Monkman. The White House: Its Historic Furnishings and First Families. pp. 144–146.
  55. Web site: The King of Desks: Wooton's Patent Secretary . 1969 . 2023-05-26 . Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology Number 3 . Walters . Betty Lawson.
  56. Seale. pp. 494, 1111.
  57. Monkman. pp. 169-170.
  58. Book: Kendall, John . American Memories: Recollections of a Hurried Run Through the United States During the Late Spring of 1896 . 1896 . 104. Printed and published for private circulation by W. Burrows .
  59. The President's Historic Desk . May 16, 1898 . The Augustana Journal . 7. Augustana Book Concern . .
  60. Book: Logan, Mrs. John A. . Thirty Years in Washington . H. L. Baldwin Company . 1901 . Minneapolis . 172.
  61. Linskey, Annie. A look inside Biden’s Oval Office. The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  62. Web site: White House Decorative Arts in the 1880s . 2023-12-10 . . Monkman . Betty C..
  63. Web site: Out of Our Past: Richmond provided the desk for President Arthur . 2020-07-05 . 2023-12-10 . Martin . Steve.
  64. Book: McKillop, Walker & Co.'s Mercantile Register of Reliable Banks and Attorneys of the United States and British Provinces . McKillop, Walker & Co. . 1882 .