WASHINGTON — Washington is getting a new tourist attraction that offers visitors the best thing they can do while in the Oval Office: an identical replica of the president Joe Biden ‘s office, including his desk, the armchairs in front of the fireplace, and the weathered family Bible on a side table.
And when Biden’s successor takes office next year, the life-size replica of the Oval Office will be in “ The People’s House: A White House Experience “will be redecorated to look exactly like the new president’s office,” said Stewart McLaurin, chairman of the White House Historical Societywhich will open the doors of its technology-driven training center to the public on Monday.
A separate space in the center, the “Immersive Theater,” uses technology to transform every five minutes into some of the most striking rooms in the White House.
“The great thing about this Oval Office, as opposed to the current Oval Office, is that when you visit us, you can come sit here in this chair and be the president of the United States,” McLaurin said, talking about the office chair as he toured The Associated Press around the center ahead of its opening on Monday.
Few people ever set foot in the Oval Office. It’s not on the public White House tour route. But at “The People’s House,” visitors don’t just get to see what one of the world’s most famous offices looks like—they get to experience it.
“You can take a call from Mr. Putin or anyone you want to take a call from, have your picture taken there,” McLaurin said. “You can sit on the benches or in the president’s chair, as you imagine him, sit there and see him on the news talking to a visitor or a head of state. You can do the same thing, just in front of the fireplace.”
The wallpaper, curtains, carpet, furniture, paintings and other artwork are exact replicas of the furnishings currently in the Oval Office. The plan is to change the decor with each future president.
“It’s exactly the same as President Biden’s, exactly,” McLaurin said. “Even the family Bible with the weathered elements is duplicated.”
In addition to the “digital column” in the center of the room, which shows visitors how the physical office has evolved over the course of the presidency, it also transforms into a mirror, allowing visitors to see themselves standing in the Oval Office.
Technology is also used to transform the “Immersive Theater” every five minutes into each of the five rooms on the White House State Floor: the East Room, the Red, Blue and Green Rooms, and the State Dining Room. Images on the walls in each room are chosen by the society’s historians. Visitors can touch the walls to unlock information about the art, furnishings or other history that took place there.
“We want people to feel like they’re in that room of the White House,” McLaurin said.
Upon exiting the theater, visitors walk to the replica of the Oval Office along a stone path resembling the White House colonnade, overlooking art created to depict the Rose Garden.
Another exhibit explores how presidents use the White House for work, family, and social functions. Visitors can attend Cabinet meetings and vote on a course of action for the president, sit at a table set up as if for a state dinner to learn how presidents use these flashy events to conduct diplomacy, or grab a seat in the family movie theater.
In a separate gallery, the White House’s head gardener, florist, chief military aide and chief doorman, among others, are shown on video explaining what they do.
After entering the education center, visitors encounter a large model of the South Side of the White House, hear an audio greeting from First Lady Jill Biden and watch an orientation film narrated by Martin Sheen, who played a president on the television series “The West Wing.”
The back of the model resembles a dollhouse, with cutouts of the ground, state and residence floors. Visitors can tap on electronic kiosks to learn more about the rooms.
The education center occupies three floors of an office building at 1700 Pennsylvania Ave., one block from the White House. Technology is used throughout to teach the history of the executive home, the presidents and families who have lived there, and the staff who keep it functioning in its multiple roles as workplace, residence and museum.
McLaurin said the center is designed to enhance the public White House tour, not replace it. But because tickets for the White House tour are hard to come by, he expects that “the vast majority of people who have the opportunity to come here will not have the privilege of actually visiting the White House.”
Jill Biden has visited twice during construction and has planned an event on the White House lawn on Saturday to celebrate the opening next week.
“This new immersive learning center will take visitors on an incredible journey that uses technology and innovation to bring the history of the White House to life,” the first lady said. a professor at a community college. “Especially as a teacher, I am very excited to see it become accessible to the public.”
Admission is freebut visitors must request a time slot. The association expects 800 visitors per day, most of whom will stay for a little over an hour.
The association has raised $60 million for construction and initial operating costs and is working to build a $50 million fund to continue operations, McLaurin said.
The White House Historical Association was founded in 1961 by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to preserve the museum quality of the White House interior and to educate the public. It is a nonprofit organization that receives no government funding. It raises money through private donations and the sale of merchandise, including an annual Christmas ornament.