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Moving Day
That’s the White House Briefing Room last August, a few days after everybody packed up and moved out for a massive overhaul and modernization that was to take eight months or so.
Eight months or so ended a month or so ago. New target date for move in by the White House press corps (now temporarily and comfortably housed in a nearby conference center) is June 25 or so.
That was the word today when officials of the White House Correspondents Association were given a tour (sorry, no photos allowed) of the ongoing construction, properly characterized by the tour guide as “basically sheet rock and studs.”
Massive work has been done. A good deal remains. The delay is due, in part, to issues that arose with asbestos, structural steel and electrical supply. Those have been addressed.
Some highlights of the refurbished briefing room: Seats will be one inch wider. Instead of eight rows of six seats, there will be seven rows of seven seats. A neater, cleaner look will be achieved by moving a lot of the electronic gear into the old swimming pool that is one floor down. Reporters and others who gather in the briefing room throughout the day will be encouraged not to eat there.
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