The West Wing is the building housing the official offices of the President of the United States. It is the part of the White House Complex in which the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, the Situation Room, and also the famous Roosevelt Room are located. Besides serving as the day-to-day office of the President of the United States, it includes offices for senior members of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and their support staff.

The West Wing is located directly west of the Executive Residence, largely concealed from view by trees, because its height is lower than the main structure's. Before construction of the West Wing, presidential staff worked on the second floor of what is now the Executive Residence. However, when Theodore Roosevelt became President, he came to the White House with his wife and his six children.

In 1902, finding that the existing offices in the Mansion were insufficient to accommodate his family as well as his staff, he had the West Wing constructed by the New York architects McKim, Mead & White. The West Wing was originally constructed as a temporary office structure, built atop the site of the greenhouse and stables. In the original design, the President's office was located in the center of the West Wing, where the Roosevelt Room now exists.

In 1909, William Howard Taft had the interior remodeled, creating the Oval Office, reminiscent of the oval rooms in the Residence. On December 24, 1929, under President Hoover, the West Wing was significantly damaged by an electrical fire. In 1933 when Franklin D.

Roosevelt became President, he undertook the third and final major reorganization with a new Oval Office being constructed in the southeast corner of the West Wing. The new office's location also gave presidents greater privacy, allowing them to slip back and forth between the main White House and the West Wing without being in full view of West Wing staff. During the period, the March of Dimes constructed a swimming pool so that FDR could exercise, as therapy for his disability.

Richard Nixon had the swimming pool covered over to create the Press Briefing Room, where the White House Press Secretary gives daily briefings.

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