You might not know that there are two White House tours.
One tour is of the East Wing, where you see the grand ceremonial environments such as the East Room, State Dining Room and so forth. The other tour is of the West Wing, which pulls back the curtain a bit to show the more functional areas, such as the Oval Office and Press Briefing Room. Thanks to our friends Bryan and Jeremy, Annie and I were able to tour the West Wing yesterday.
A few notes before we share the photos: Cameras weren't allowed to be used in most areas, so we're limited in what we can share. The bathrooms are rather nice. And, overall, it looks nothing like its TV counterpart.
Because cameras aren't allowed for the bulk of the tour, this was our first opportunity to take a photo. We're standing at the entrance between rooms 5 and 6 on
this map.
A few steps from the last photo is this view back to the Residence, or the main White House building. The path behind Annie is the one leading to the Press Briefing Room.
Perhaps the most visible room of the White House, the Press Briefing Room is actually outside the West Wing and part of the connecting enclosure to the Residence. The main dais was roped off, as you can see, so I wasn't able to play press secretary. That's probably for the best.
The Press Briefing Room was recently renovated and is rather well equipped. I took this reverse-angle shot as it shows a side of the room that most people never see on television.
We were told that the media outlets decide the room's seating assignments among themselves. In the center of the front row is
Helen Thomas, the 89-year-old Hearst Newspapers Columnist who's best known for her pointed questions and persistent nature. I couldn't pass up the chance to see the view from her seat. If you enlarge this photo, you might be able to see her nameplate at the seat's base.
Our friends Bryan, left, and Jeremy did a fantastic job leading the tour through the West Wing. They then gave us a look inside the nearby Old Executive Office Building.
The OEOB generally chooses function over form, but there are some beautiful areas, such as this staircase.
A typical office in the OEOB. It's worth noting that there's quite a bit more breathing room for workers in this building than the West Wing, which would cram several desks into a space this size.
An ornate skylight on the OEOB's top floor. There are others like it in the building, but this one most impressed me.
Among the areas we saw that we weren't allowed to photograph were the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, the Roosevelt Room, the West Wing's main lobby, the bathrooms, the Rose Garden, a more intimate dining venue than what you'd find in the East Wing, and doors to the Situation Room. Regardless of the photographic restrictions, it was a real treat to see those areas. The Oval Office struck me as smaller than expected, I think because the high ceilings left me with the impression that its walls were further apart. Conversely, the Cabinet Room seemed larger than I'd expected, mostly because the many photos I'd seen of it showed tightly packed crowds.
Annie and I are still processing the tour today and this is just a broad overview of our experience. If you have any questions, just post them in the comments and we'll respond.
The game is reportedly going to be unveiled in October, either through a feature article in Game Informer or through a press conference in London. The image at right, the teaser Game Informer placed in its most recent issue, says that "something epic is brewing" and "the star of the show is someone you just might know." Accompanying the text is cover mockup that evokes Mickey Mouse's trademark appearance, if not more than slightly oily and more sinister than normal.
