Nickname for the western part of the
White House which contains the Presidential Offices: the
Oval Office, the
Cabinet Room, the
Roosevelt Room, the
Press Briefing Room, and the offices of the President's executive
staff. Originally designed by
Thomas Jefferson, the West Wing and its offices were not built until
1902, under President
Theodore Roosevelt. With six children in the mansion, quarters were getting cramped, so architect Charles McKim doubled the living space for the First Family and moved the offices out of the central mansion. The Oval Office and Cabinet Room were made permanent additions in
1909.
Sources: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/west-wing.html
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/whitehouse/timeline/1902.html
http://www.whitehousehistory.org/