Check out Kamala Harris' new vice presidential offices, which are full of historic White House artifacts

Talia LakritzFeb 5, 2021, 03:25 IST

Vice President Kamala Harris.@VP/Twitter

The vice president has offices in the West Wing and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
The ornate EEOB office is used for ceremonial gatherings and press events.
The more modest White House office is a workspace in close proximity to the president.

The vice president of the United States has two office spaces: a nondescript room in the West Wing of the White House, and an ornate ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door.

Through the years, vice presidents have redecorated the spaces with new furniture and family heirlooms. Vice President Kamala Harris is already making both of them her own with some personal touches.

Take a look inside Harris' offices on the White House grounds, and see how they've changed over the years.

President Theodore Roosevelt oversaw the construction of the West Wing, where the vice president's smaller office is located, in 1902.

The West Wing, circa 1904. Library of Congress

The executive office building was originally supposed to be for temporary use during renovations. Roosevelt began working in a rectangular office there in 1902 — the Oval Office wasn't constructed until 1909, when President William Howard Taft doubled the size of the West Wing.

The vice president's White House office is not particularly fancy or large, with enough space for a desk and a sitting area.

Vice President George H. W. Bush holds a meeting in his office in 1986. Dirck Halstead/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images

"The vice president's office in the West Wing is ordinary, but the idea is proximity to the president rather than a large size or fancy decor," Dr. Elizabeth Goldsmith, professor emerita at Florida State University, told Insider.

The vice president's office in the West Wing is ordinary, but the idea is proximity to the president rather than a large size or fancy decor, Dr. Elizabeth Goldsmith, professor emerita at Florida State University, told Insider.

Vice presidents have used the office to receive foreign dignitaries and meet with aides.

President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore hold a meeting in 1997. LUKE FRAZZA/AFP via Getty Images

President Bill Clinton joined Vice President Al Gore in his office to meet with Martin Lee, leader of Hong Kong's Democratic Party, in 1997.

The walls contain portraits of America's first two vice presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

Vice President Dick Cheney talks with Chief of Staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby in his West Wing office in 2001. David Bohrer/U.S. National Archives via Getty Images

The carpet was changed from tan to blue when Vice President Dick Cheney occupied the office space.

Cheney also displayed a Civil War-era map with a family connection behind his desk.

Vice President Dick Cheney in his West Wing office in 2007. Charles Ommanney/Getty Images

The map is entitled "The Route taken by Samuel Fletcher Cheney, Captain 21st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry from 1861 to 1865," who was a relative of the vice president.

The map is entitled The Route taken by Samuel Fletcher Cheney, Captain 21st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry from 1861 to 1865, who was a relative of the vice president.

When Joe Biden served as vice president under President Barack Obama, the walls were painted blue to match the carpet.

Vice President Joe Biden works in his office in the West Wing of the White House in 2009. Antonio Bolfo/Getty Images

Biden also brought in new furniture, swapping out Cheney's yellow sofas for slate blue couches with a floral pattern.

Vice President Mike Pence also made a few decorative changes with a navy patterned carpet and plain gray armchairs.

Vice President Mike Pence meets with the President's coronavirus task force in his West Wing office in 2020. D. Myles Cullen/White House

Pence kept the Bronze Star his father earned in the Korean War in his office.

Vice President Kamala Harris hasn't gotten around to decorating the office just yet, but she has added some photos of her family.

Vice President Kamala Harris on a phone call in her West Wing office in 2021. @VP/Twitter

The wall behind her desk is empty, and all of the furniture remains the same.

Harris swore in Biden's first Cabinet member, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, in her office the day after the inauguration.

Vice President Kamala Harris administers the oath of office to Avril Haines in 2021. @VP/Twitter

Harris is the first woman to serve as vice president, and Haines is the first woman to serve as Director of National Intelligence.

She also spoke to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the phone.

Vice President Kamala Harris on the phone with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2021. @VP/Twitter

The two discussed COVID-19, climate change, and job creation in both countries.

The vice president's ceremonial office is located in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House.

An entrance to the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Dmitry Kirsanov\TASS via Getty Images

The EEOB was built from 1871 to 1888 and has 988 rooms, Goldsmith told Insider.

"It is massive," she said. "I like the way it looks — in times past, some called it ugly."

The EEOB was built from 1871 to 1888 and has 988 rooms, Goldsmith told Insider.

It is massive, she said. I like the way it looks — in times past, some called it ugly.

The ceremonial space was formerly used as the Navy secretary's office.

Vice President's Ceremonial Office, pre-restoration. The White House

The original walls and ceiling were decorated with symbols of the Navy in Victorian colors. Some of the original designs were restored in 1980, and the parts that were too damaged were copied onto canvases.

The desk inside was first used by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902.

Theodore Roosevelt with what is now the vice president's desk. Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images

It was also used by Presidents Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Eisenhower, and Truman.

Various presidents and vice presidents have signed the top drawer of the desk since the 1940s.

Vice President Dick Cheney's signature appears on the inside of the top drawer of his desk in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office. David Bohrer/The White House via Getty Images

Cheney left his signature inside the desk in 2009.

The ceremonial office is mostly used for meetings and interviews.

Vice President Dick Cheney holds a meeting in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in 2006. David Bohrer/White House

Cheney met with United States Military Academy Cadets in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office in 2006.

The chandeliers are replicas of the original gasoliers from 1900.

Vice President Joe Biden attends a Recovery Act Implementation Cabinet meeting in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

Biden held events in the ceremonial office throughout his time as vice president, including meetings with law enforcement, the Recovery Act Implementation Cabinet, and the White House task force focused on ending campus sexual assault.

Pence swore in Cabinet members at the ornately designed ceremonial office in 2017.

Elaine Chao is sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence at the vice president's ceremonial office in 2017. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Elaine Chao was sworn in as President Donald Trump's Transportation Secretary in the ceremonial office in 2017.

Harris swore in Chao's successor, Pete Buttigieg, in the same spot in 2021.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff pose with the new Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten, after he was sworn in. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Buttigieg became the first openly gay Cabinet secretary in US history.

Her historic desk includes official stationery.

A view of pen and paper is seen in Vice President Kamala Harris' ceremonial office. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Harris can now add her signature to the top drawer of the desk.

Harris is already making the ceremonial office her own with some personal touches.

Vice President Kamala Harris' ceremonial office. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

The photo on the right shows Harris and Emhoff with their arms around each other at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

According to Goldsmith, the vice president's spouse usually also has an office in the EEOB.