Office

Used for conducting farm and presidential business, this room and the den became a "temporary White House" while President Eisenhower recuperated from his 1955 heart attack. The desk is a reproduction of one used by George Washington. The gift was made with pine boards recovered from the White House during its 1948 - 1952 renovation. Eisenhower received a phone call here on May 7, 1960, informing him that the Soviet Union not only shot down the U-2 spy plane, but also captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers. The room's small size and simplicity reflects the down-to-earth nature that served Eisenhower so well as one of the world's great soldiers and statesmen.