West Wing, the tour

A few weekends ago, my brother dropped by D.C. for a few days to play tourist.

However, before he left he spent one afternoon being a tour guide, or at least a facilitator. Turns out, one of his college acquaintances happens to work in the West Wing of the White House, so we got a private tour one Sunday afternoon.

For those who are huge fans of the TV series of the same name, the West Wing might be a disappointment. It looks little or nothing like the set of the series. Other than the fancy touches (huge blow-ups of photographs by the White House photographer, original portraits of historical presidents, American art everywhere, and the general trappings of power) it generally looks like a well-carpeted office building. Walls instead of cubicles, and better suits, but the general feel stays the same.

So in general it's just offices, but of course the fun is in the details. Such as the Roosevelt room with dual portraits of Teddy and Franklin, with the story being the portraits are rotated depending on the party affiliation of the administration. Currently, the portrait of Teddy is on top. With any luck, in a few months Franklin will take the spot of honor.

There's the newly renovated press briefing room, complete with engraved name plates at the base of each chair. (The front row goes something like: NBC, ABC, Helen Thomas, CBS, CNN). Then a quick jaunt up and around through the halls, and you end up in front of the Oval Office. A different hallway leads behind, to the Rose Garden. Then duck through a door to see the actual working offices of the people behind the Office.

Across the street is one of my favorite buildings in D.C. - the Old Executive Office Building.

The building is built in a grand French style, with columns dotting the exterior and wide, sweeping staircases and hallways inside.

The most ornate room is the Indian Treaty Room - which never saw an Indian Treaty signing. But it does have a grand tile floor, a balcony and the gleaming touches designed to impress. Also a nice view of the White House across the (closed to the public) street.

In all, a day spent looking at places I never expected to see despite living in this city.