Eisenhower Executive Office Building Corridors

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Corridors

Photo of cast iron column and marble floor with a granite staircase in the background (1991, Office of Administration, EOP)

Corridor column at center stair, 1991. EOP Preservation Office.

The corridors are lined with cast iron pilasters and columns, black and white limestone and marble floors, and the ceilings have shallow arched vaults that alternate in narrow and wide bays. These are seven levels of corridors in the building, which equal 1 1/4 miles in length. The paint colors have been restored to their original appearance when each wing was completed. The corridor length on each floor is one quarter of a mile. All together, the seven levels of the corridor total one and three quarters of a mile.

When the building was first occupied, messengers were stationed outside many of the offices to convey important documents and messages between the staff, and to other departments across town. The messengers were gradually replaced as telephones become widely used and available.

Photo showing the detail of a cast iron pilaster with moulding on the ceiling (1991, Office of Administration, EOP)

Corridor pilaster capital, 1991. EOP Preservation Office.

Between 1888 and 1902, soldiers in town for inaugural activities were quartered in the corridors. To make the top floor as comfortable as possible in 1893, the building superintendant put gun racks in all corridors, and covered the floors with three inches of sawdust (Washington Post, Feb. 10, 1893, p. 7).

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