NATION : Bush Replaces Kennedy’s Desk
Moving to put his own mark on the Oval Office, President Bush has jettisoned the desk first used by John F. Kennedy, his spokesman said today.
Marlin Fitzwater said Bush ordered his own desk, which he has used since May 2, 1985, installed in the Oval Office on June 13. “He had it as vice president, and he got used to it, found it comfortable, thought it was attractive,” Fitzwater said, elaborating on Bush’s new work station.
Bush’s desk was one of four made-to-order about 1920 for the owners of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Co. It was placed in the company’s office in Ohio. Later, the CSX Corp., parent company of the C&O; Railway donated the desk to the White House. After his inauguration, Bush used the desk in his private residential quarters.
Fitzwater said the desk replaces the one “used there by Presidents Kennedy, Carter and Reagan.” The old desk has been returned to the White House storage bin.
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