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.

Discover where in the White House the president's office has been located, how different presidents used these spaces, and why the Oval Office was created. Anywhere Activity: Decorate Your Own Oval Office

No! The Oval Office has been the primary presidential workspace since 1909, when President William Howard Taft worked in the first iteration of the Oval Office. Prior to the expansion of the West Wing, presidents worked elsewhere in the White House.

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.

The White House Grounds began as approximately 85 acres of land chosen by George Washington and were cultivated by garden-loving President Thomas Jefferson. These shifting grounds around the Executive Mansion have seen retaining walls, green houses, vegetable gardens, and beautiful flowers.

This photograph of the Oval Office during the Joseph R. Biden administration was taken on June 9, 2021 by Bruce White. Before 1909, the president's office was located in the Executive Mansion. During the William H. Taft administration, the West Wing doubled in size from the 1902 renovation and included a presidential oval office.

Since 1965, the White House Historical Association has been proud to fund the official portraits of our presidents and first ladies, a long-standing tradition of the White House Collection.

After the Truman Renovation of the White House, 1948-1952, it was placed in the Broadcast Room on the Ground Floor where it was used by President Dwight D. Eisenhower during radio and television broadcasts. It was first used in the Oval Office in 1961 at the request of President John F. Kennedy.

The Oval Office is located in the West Wing of the White House. Here the incumbent president meets with dignitaries and his closest staff members, appears for televised addresses to the public, and carries out daily tasks.

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.