The Oval Office has been the main office for the president since President William Howard Taft began working in it in October 1909. After his inauguration, President Taft held a competition to select an architect to enlarge and make permanent the West Wing's "temporary" Executive office built during Theodore Roosevelt's administration.

Taft’s Oval Office was used by his successors until Franklin D. Roosevelt, who oversaw yet another renovation and expansion of the West Wing in 1934. As part of that renovation, Roosevelt moved the Oval Office to its current location in the southeast corner of the West Wing, overlooking the Rose Garden.

Collection Preservation of the White House. In the 1960s, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy oversaw the task of restoring the White House interiors and thus founded the White House Historical Association to enhance the understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of …

For more than a century, the president's office has been located in the Oval Office of the West Wing, but this was not always the case. Whether the president is addressing the nation, signing legislation, discussing issues with cabinet members, or meeting with leaders of the world, the White House provides an important and symbolic setting.

It was first used in the Oval Office in 1961 at the request of President John F. Kennedy. After President Lyndon B. Johnson selected another desk for his office, it was lent to a Kennedy Library traveling exhibition, 1964-1965, and then to the Smithsonian Institution for exhibition, 1966-1977.

As President Roosevelt regularly used a wheelchair, the repositioning of the Oval Office allowed for easier access to the Residence. President Roosevelt in the Oval Office with his numerous projects and responsibilities. Not only did President Roosevelt expand the West Wing, but he also added an East Wing after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Collection Preservation of the White House. In the 1960s, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy oversaw the task of restoring the White House interiors and thus founded the White House Historical Association to enhance the understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of …

Oval Office, Barack Obama Administration This photograph of the Oval Office by Bruce White was taken in 2010 during the Barack Obama administration. President Obama used the Resolute desk, popular among modern presidents, and displayed a bust of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Augustus Saint-Gauden's bust of President Abraham Lincoln.

The desk was first used in the Oval Office during the presidency of John F. Kennedy. When President Lyndon B. Johnson selected another desk for the Oval Office, the Resolute Desk became part of a traveling exhibition and then went on to the Smithsonian, where it was displayed from 1966 to 1977.

In 1909, President William Howard Taft had the West Wing enlarged, adding the first Oval Office. Herbert Hoover remodeled the wing and rebuilt it after a fire in 1929. With the expansion of the staff in the 1930s, Franklin D. Roosevelt requested additional space, and the wing was renovated under the eye of architect Eric Gugler.