Ground Floor diagram (click to enlarge)



During construction on the White House’s new ballroom, the China Room, Vermeil Room, and Library on the ground floor are closed. The rooms are now being used as offices by the staff that was displaced when the East Wing was torn down. There is no announcement as to whether these rooms are temporarily or permanently off the standard White House Tour. Information contained in this article assumes the closed rooms will once again be part of the tour when construction on the ballroom is completed.

A tour of the White House begins on what is called the Ground Floor where three rooms are open for viewing. The tour does not proceed past the center of the White House to the west side. I asked what the rooms were used for today and was told, “For tourists to take photos of.” In other words, they are rarely used for official events and serve more as museum rooms to display White House antiques. You can only look inside from the doorway, so with a big crowd you actually have to wait in line to get a peak.

VERMEIL ROOM

The Vermeil Room was once a ladies’ coat room and a billiard room. Today it is used to display portraits of the recent First Ladies. It gets its name from the collection of vermeil dishes on display—dishes plated with a thin layer of silver and / or gold.