New White House replica in D.C. offers hi-tech look at executive mansion

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This town is flush with museums and didn’t need another one.

That’s part of the thinking behind The People’s House: A White House Experience, a technology-driven immersive centre that tells the story of the executive mansion, its inhabitants and the people who have dedicated their careers to its functions.

The 33,000-square-foot White House replica is less than a block away from the real thing.

The privately funded, US$85-million project opened to the public on Monday. There is no admission fee, but visitors must request timed tickets.

“This is an experience,” White House Historical Association president Stewart D. McLaurin told the Toronto Sun during a media sneak-peek walkthrough ahead of the centre’s official opening. “We want your mind to open and imagine being in the White House. We want to keep this fresh and changing … and fun.”

The Oval Office is not on the White House public tour route, making this educational centre’s version far more accessible and the next best thing. It’s an identical, full-scale replica of U.S. President Joe Biden’s office right down to the Resolute Desk (where guests are encouraged to take selfies to capture their moment as president of the U.S.), wallpaper, weathered family Bible on a side table, and armchairs in front of the fireplace. The Secret Service panic buttons are there, too.

The office will be redecorated as needed to reflect the choices of Biden’s successor, said McLaurin, whose non-profit, non-partisan association has been guiding White House preservation efforts since it was founded by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961.

“The White House has over 60,000 fine and decorative art objects from paintings to sculptures to furnishings and tableware,” he added.

Guests begin their visit with an orientation film narrated by Martin Sheen, who played the president on TV’s The West Wing, before entering an immersive theatre highlighting various rooms of the house — the East Room is the largest in the Executive Residence, used primarily for entertainment, while the second floor is the private residence for the First Family.

Another area that officials believe will be among the more popular in the three-level building is the section that houses digital portraits and stories of staff whose efforts make the White House function. Visitors will learn about how Dale Haney, the White House grounds superintendent since 1972, starts each day by watering the plants in the Oval Office, as well as what goes into being the White House florist, engineer, security and First Lady.

“These, to me, are the real people of the White House,” McLaurin said.

Also on the second floor, visitors can sit in the Cabinet Room and listen to Abraham Lincoln and his Cabinet debate entering the Civil War, Franklin D. Roosevelt tackling the Great Depression, and John F. Kennedy mulling the three of the Cuban missile crisis.

Around the corner, “Stories in Objects” is a collection of seemingly random objects that come to life when activated by technology.

While acknowledging that the White House Historical Association honours, supports and is “deeply involved” in the accredited museum that is the White House, McLaurin said The People’s House is something entirely different. Here, it’s not about objects under glass and framed items on the wall. It’s about being immersed in technology and digital content that brings the White House to life.

“Over there, you visit the White House,” McLaurin said. “Right here, you experience the White House.”

Visitors can also purchase official White House Historical Association Christmas ornaments in the gift shop at street level.

For more information, visit thepeopleshouse.org.