At Tobu World Square, the White House’s West Wing has been faithfully reproduced, including the Oval Office, which serves as the President’s executive office, as well as the Cabinet Room and the press briefing room – all familiar locations frequently seen on television.
Despite being frequently featured in the media, the complete details of the West Wing remain relatively undisclosed. In this context, our site’s administrator, who has visited the actual White House, aims to assess the accuracy of Tobu World Square’s West Wing reproduction by comparing it to the real thing.
Fragmentary Publicity of the West Wing
The White House’s West Wing houses crucial spaces for conducting political affairs. Due to this significance, access to its interior is generally restricted, requiring media organizations to apply for permission to enter.
Photography is allowed only in specific areas such as the North Portico used by the President during departures, the Rose Garden on the south side, and the regular press briefing room in the West Colonnade. Images of the President working in the Oval Office or engaging in discussions with international leaders are provided by the White House and purchased by various media outlets.
Tobu World Square’s West Wing
Although the White House’s West Wing is well-known to many, limited areas are accessible to the public, making a comprehensive understanding rare. Consequently, Tobu World Square’s West Wing replica often presents speculative recreations.
The President’s executive office is undoubtedly the most crucial space within the White House, yet the Tobu World Square version features columns resembling a non-existent balcony, and the walls of the Oval Office are elliptical rather than following the actual roof’s curvature.
Further, the northern extension of the West Colonnade serves as the kitchen for media meals, protruding from the West Colonnade’s north side. However, this extension is linear in Tobu World Square’s replica.
Additionally, the West Wing is a two-story structure, with the basement level hosting facilities like kitchens for presidential and ministerial meals and an emergency Situation Room. The West Wing’s basement west side opens to the surface, allowing access to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building across the road. However, this basement area is omitted in Tobu World Square’s version, replaced by tall trees that do not exist in reality.
The North Entrance, corresponding to the West Wing’s front, features four windows on each side, Doric-style columns framing a portico with a central double door, topped by the presidential seal and flanked by windows. On the other hand, the entrance of Tobu World Square’s West Wing replica also has four windows on each side but lacks the same door configuration, and it lacks windows on its sides.
West Wing Veiled in Mystery
While spaces like the President’s executive office and the press briefing room are recognizable through media exposure, comprehensive knowledge of their exact locations and the overall layout of the West Wing is limited. Thus, accurately reproducing the West Wing requires not only our familiar information but also insights from local media reports.
