11 Sep 2014
White House visitor centre reopens after US$12.6m refurb
BY Tom Anstey
The visitor centre at the White House in Washington DC, is set to reopen on 13 September following a US$12.6m (€9.7m, £7.8m) renovation.
Part-funded by a US$7.5m (€6m, £4.6m) public-private partnership with the White House Historical Association, and undertaken by the National Park Service, the two-year renovation will create 16,000sq ft (1,440sq m) of remodelled space, a new exhibit area, shop and visitor information sites, plus tactile exhibits for the visually impaired and more than 90 White House artefacts.
The visitor centre has also embraced new technology, offering touchscreen tours of the White House, while also adding accessibility improvements and energy-efficient LED lighting, low-flow sinks and toilets to reduce the visitor centre's impact on the environment.
The remaining US$5m (€3.9m, £3m) of funding needed was donated by philanthropist David Rubenstein to be spent on the centre's upkeep.
The centre is free to enter and will be open seven days a week, from 7:30 am - 4 pm. It features many aspects of the White House, including its architecture, furnishings, first families, social events, and relations with the press and world leaders, in addition to a thirty minute video on its history.
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