WH Press Room Artifacts Sought In Wake Of Renovation

By: Joe Strupp To hear veteran reporters tell it, the soon-to-be-renovated White House press quarters are one step above a medieval dungeon. Complaints about broken chairs, cramped desks and poor air circulation are legendary for the location, which today begins its first major facelift in 36 years.

Still, that rotten reputation has not stopped a small scramble for artifacts from the room that dates back to the Nixon Administration and has been the site of historic events ranging from first word of Nixon's resignation speech to the announcement of the first Persian Gulf War.

Steve Scully, president of the White House Correspondents Association and a senior C-SPAN producer, said at least three organizations have expressed an interest in the press briefing room items, which are being removed today and put in storage by the U.S. General Services Administration.

"There is a lot of interest in the chairs, the railings, carpet, the doors. Everything that is inside the room that is not the property of the news organizations is going into storage," Scully said. "The GSA will store it until they decide what to do with it."

According to Scully, that could mean anything from giving it to some non-profit groups to auctioning items off for charity. He said the Newseum and some Bush Administration officials already planning for the George W. Bush Presidential Library have expressed interest, along with the correspondents association itself.

"The White House has expressed an interest in one or two of the chairs, and others could go to the Newseum," Scully said. "The correspondents association has expressed an interest in auctioning some chairs off to raise money for our scholarships."

Newseum Executive Director Joe Urschel confirmed his group's inquiries, adding "we'd like to get the podium, the microphone, and the White House plaque behind the podium. We're interested in them for their historic and educational value, not monetary value."

Government officials, however, have made no indication of what will happen to the items.

During the renovation, which is set to end in May 2007, the press will be relocated across the street to Jackson Place, a four-story government-owned building. Journalists will occupy two of the floors, Scully said.

Scully and other veterans of White House reporting admit the old press room items are less-than-attractive, as is the room itself. "It is such a rat hole over there," Scully observed. "The air conditioning didn't work half the time, they flooded in the basement, and some of the phones were still rotary dialed." He said the 46 chairs being stored date back to the Reagan Administration, noting that four of them were missing seats.

Others pointed out the ugly carpets and outdated furnishings. "Most of the chairs are broken or off the hinges," said Peter Baker of The Washington Post, who has covered the last two administrations, on and off. "Do you think they could auction off that stained carpet?"

Ron Hutcheson, a White House correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers, said the news organization name plates on each chair were quickly scooped up and saved in recent days. He said he would not mind having a chair, but would not bid for one. "That room, as messed up as it is, was the site of a lot of history, so having a piece of history might be interesting," he said.

The press briefing room had actually been the site of a White House pool, Scully said. It was covered over and turned into the press quarters in 1970. Reagan Administration officials added the auditorium style seating, while the Clinton Administration did some painting.

"It's where Ron Zeigler announced Nixon would speak to the nation [before his resignation], where Al Haig said, "I'm in charge' [after Reagan's assassination attempt], and where Marlin Fitzwater announced the first war in Iraq," Scully recalled. "It is an historic room."

The Post's Baker agreed, noting that seeing some items on Ebay in the future might not be a surprise. "It is the White House," he said. "Everything in that building is a piece of history."