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C&O desk
The C&O desk is one of six desks ever used in the Oval Office by a sitting President of the United States. It is the shortest-serving Oval Office desk to date, used during President George H. W. Bush's term. Prior to his use, the desk had been used elsewhere in the White House.
Built around 1920, the C&O desk is one of four desks built for the owners of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) by Rorimer-Brooks. Following a series of railway mergers, Clement Conger convinced Hays T. Watkins of the Chessie System to loan the desk to the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the United States Department of State at some point between 1969 and 1974. Conger later became White House Curator. In March 1975, he had the desk moved to the Oval Office Study. It was used in this room by Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. In 1987, the C&O desk was donated by Chessie System's successor CSX Corporation to the White House, making it a part of the White House collection.
George H. W. Bush first had the C&O desk moved to his office in the White House, then the Executive Residence, and finally the Oval Office. All presidents since then have used the Resolute desk, though Donald Trump temporarily used the C&O desk from February to March 2025 while the Resolute desk was refurbished.
The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, in College Station, Texas, houses a full-scale replica of the Oval Office, including a replica of the C&O desk.
The C&O desk, constructed around 1920, is a walnut reproduction of an eighteenth-century Chippendale double pedestal desk, also known as a partners desk. The desk features an inverted breakfront form and each of the two pedestals is veneered with burlwood and contains three graduated drawers on each of the two faces. The narrow desktop consists of a narrow frieze tier of drawers recessed back from the rest of the furniture piece, and the whole desk sits on bracket feet. The top of the desk is inlaid with burled maple.
In 1930, the Van Sweringen brothers, Oris Paxton (O.P.) Van Sweringen and Mantis James (M.J.) Van Sweringen, completed construction of Terminal Tower, a 52-story, 708-foot tall skyscraper built over Union Terminal in Cleveland, Ohio. The tower, built at virtually the same time as the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building, was designed in a much more conservative, Beaux-Arts style than other towers of the time period. It took a decade to complete. This conservative styling extended to the interiors of the building with the Van Sweringen brothers constructing lavish offices on the 36th floor of the building in an old-world English style.
Featuring suites paneled in oak imported from Sherwood Forest, the rooms were filled with furniture pieces designed and built in a variety of historic English styles by Rorimer-Brooks. Louis Rorimer, the sole head of Rorimer-Brooks, was a Cleveland-based interior designer known for his knowledge of art and architectural history. In 1957, Rorimer-Brooks's records were destroyed by Irvin and Co. who had acquired the company.
Rorimer-Brooks designed and built matching walnut partners desks for the offices on the 36th floor of Terminal Tower, the Van Sweringen's executive offices. Around 1920, four matching desks were made for this floor of the tower, one for each office. The four offices, and the four matching desks, originally were used by O.P. Van Sweringen, M.J. Van Sweringen, C. L. Bradley, and D. S. Barret Jr.
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C&O desk
The C&O desk is one of six desks ever used in the Oval Office by a sitting President of the United States. It is the shortest-serving Oval Office desk to date, used during President George H. W. Bush's term. Prior to his use, the desk had been used elsewhere in the White House.
Built around 1920, the C&O desk is one of four desks built for the owners of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) by Rorimer-Brooks. Following a series of railway mergers, Clement Conger convinced Hays T. Watkins of the Chessie System to loan the desk to the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the United States Department of State at some point between 1969 and 1974. Conger later became White House Curator. In March 1975, he had the desk moved to the Oval Office Study. It was used in this room by Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. In 1987, the C&O desk was donated by Chessie System's successor CSX Corporation to the White House, making it a part of the White House collection.
George H. W. Bush first had the C&O desk moved to his office in the White House, then the Executive Residence, and finally the Oval Office. All presidents since then have used the Resolute desk, though Donald Trump temporarily used the C&O desk from February to March 2025 while the Resolute desk was refurbished.
The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, in College Station, Texas, houses a full-scale replica of the Oval Office, including a replica of the C&O desk.
The C&O desk, constructed around 1920, is a walnut reproduction of an eighteenth-century Chippendale double pedestal desk, also known as a partners desk. The desk features an inverted breakfront form and each of the two pedestals is veneered with burlwood and contains three graduated drawers on each of the two faces. The narrow desktop consists of a narrow frieze tier of drawers recessed back from the rest of the furniture piece, and the whole desk sits on bracket feet. The top of the desk is inlaid with burled maple.
In 1930, the Van Sweringen brothers, Oris Paxton (O.P.) Van Sweringen and Mantis James (M.J.) Van Sweringen, completed construction of Terminal Tower, a 52-story, 708-foot tall skyscraper built over Union Terminal in Cleveland, Ohio. The tower, built at virtually the same time as the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building, was designed in a much more conservative, Beaux-Arts style than other towers of the time period. It took a decade to complete. This conservative styling extended to the interiors of the building with the Van Sweringen brothers constructing lavish offices on the 36th floor of the building in an old-world English style.
Featuring suites paneled in oak imported from Sherwood Forest, the rooms were filled with furniture pieces designed and built in a variety of historic English styles by Rorimer-Brooks. Louis Rorimer, the sole head of Rorimer-Brooks, was a Cleveland-based interior designer known for his knowledge of art and architectural history. In 1957, Rorimer-Brooks's records were destroyed by Irvin and Co. who had acquired the company.
Rorimer-Brooks designed and built matching walnut partners desks for the offices on the 36th floor of Terminal Tower, the Van Sweringen's executive offices. Around 1920, four matching desks were made for this floor of the tower, one for each office. The four offices, and the four matching desks, originally were used by O.P. Van Sweringen, M.J. Van Sweringen, C. L. Bradley, and D. S. Barret Jr.