Map Room, Historic monitoring room in White House, United States
The Map Room is a ground-floor chamber in the White House filled with maps, Georgian wood panels, and Chippendale furniture arranged around a central gathering space. The arrangement gives a sense of how leaders conduct meetings and work within this compact yet dignified setting.
Franklin D. Roosevelt converted this space from a former cloakroom into a strategic command center in 1942 to monitor World War II operations. This military purpose shaped the room for decades and made it central to how leaders worked and planned.
The room shows how presidents made decisions and communicated with other nations, reflecting different purposes from war to modern negotiations. Visitors see today how this space shapes the way leaders work and interact with one another.
The space now hosts small receptions, presidential television interviews, and diplomatic conversations in a more intimate setting than larger rooms in the residence. Visitors should know that this remains a working space and access may vary depending on official use.
National Geographic supplied specialized wall-mounted cabinets with rolling maps that leaders used to track global military movements during the war. These rolling map systems were cutting-edge technology for the era and allowed leaders to update operations in real time.
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