8. Replica of the Oval Office
This election year, as Americans consider who to put in the Oval Office, the New-York Historical Society invites visitors to step inside a re-creation of that most famous room in the White House. Through a series of special exhibitions and events, the museum will explore the cornerstones of citizenship and American democracy throughout 2020. Starting on Presidents’ Day Weekend, visitors to the new Meet the Presidents exhibition will discover how the role and powers of the president have evolved since George Washington, and find out what the view looks like from behind the president’s desk.
The new exhibition will be a permanent fixture of the museum’s fourth floor galleries. Serving as the centerpiece, a detailed re-creation of the White House Oval Office will give visitors the opportunity to sit, and take a photo, in a replica of the room where presidents have exercised their powers, duties, and responsibilities since 1909. Each president has slightly altered the room to fit his own tastes, but the version represented at the New-York Historical Society reflects the most widely considered classic interpretation. The room appears how it would have during the second term of President Ronald Regan.
