Lost Chapters
Oval Office: Quartz Location
The first Oval Office was built in 1909 for President William Howard Taft, designed by architect Nathan C. Wyeth. In 1934 Franklin D. Roosevelt had it moved to the southeast corner of the West Wing, where it still sits today.
- Cost
- 8 crystals
- Type
- Location · Indoor
- Color
- Quartz (Founders & Revolution)
- Rarity
- Common
- Set
- Liberty & Lightning (Set 1)
Start of your turn: draw a card and gain 1 crystal this turn.
Cornerless presidential workspace that ensures commanders-in-chief can never be backed into one while making important decisions.
The real history
The first Oval Office was built in 1909 for President William Howard Taft. Theodore Roosevelt had a new, temporary executive office building put up in 1902, later called the West Wing, and his office in it was rectangular.
Taft doubled the size of the West Wing and added the first oval office, centered on the south side of the building. The architect was Nathan C. Wyeth. Construction began in the summer of 1909 and was finished by October. Wyeth chose an oval to give the room a dignified treatment fitting its high purpose. The shape also echoed oval rooms in the original 1792 design of the Executive Mansion by James Hoban, which George Washington favored because oval rooms suited levees, formal receptions where citizens could meet the president.
In 1934 President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the West Wing expanded, with architect Eric Gugler designing the work. The new Oval Office moved to the southeast corner of the building, where it remains today, overlooking the Rose Garden. It sits close to the Residence by way of the West Colonnade, a short walk sometimes called the "forty-five second commute."
The Resolute Desk is made from the oak of the British ship HMS Resolute. Queen Victoria gave it to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880, and President John F. Kennedy first placed it in the Oval Office. Since 1977 it has stayed there, apart from part of George H. W. Bush's presidency.
Sources
- The History of the Oval Office, White House Historical Association
- The West Wing, 1900-1924, White House Historical Association
How the card plays
The Oval Office costs 8 crystals and is a Quartz Location. Its text reads: start of your turn, draw a card and gain 1 crystal this turn. Every turn it stays in play pays you a card and an extra crystal, so it quickly takes over a long game.
At 8 crystals it is a late play, so survive the early turns first. Once it lands, spend the extra crystal on your biggest plays. It stacks well with The New World, The New World, which also draws a card and adds a crystal at the start of your turn, and with Franklin D. Roosevelt, Deal Maker, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who gives you a crystal each turn as well. John F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, costs 8 and draws 2 and refreshes your characters, and the Oval Office helps you reach him sooner.
- Playable in decks led by George Washington, and by any Traveler Leader whose colors include Quartz.
- In the Washington starter deck (1 copy). Deck code:
LC2-BhoCgAKBAYIBgwGEAYUBhgKHAYgBiQGKAYsBjAKNAY4BjwGQAZEBkgGTAZQBlQGWAZcBmAGZAZoCmwGcAZ0BngGfAaABoQFBjA - A deck holds up to 3 copies of this card.
Questions about The Oval Office
Why is the Oval Office oval?
Architect Nathan C. Wyeth chose the shape for its dignified feel, and it echoed oval rooms in the original 1792 design of the Executive Mansion, which George Washington favored for formal receptions.
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