With some modifications by William Howard Taft the West Wing remained largely unchanged until a fire on December 24, 1929, during the administration of Herbert Hoover.

In 1933, early in the administration of Franklin Roosevelt, the new president began a series of meetings with staff architect Eric Gugler to enlarge and modify the West Wing.

Roosevelt moved Taft's Oval Office, centered on the south side of the wing, to its present location in the southeast corner adjacent to the Rose Garden.

Cast bronze bas-relief plaques with profile portraits of Theodore Roosevelt by James Earle Fraser and of FDR by John DeStefano hung on the south wall until removal during a refurbishment during the second term of President George W. Bush.

Republican administrations would, in turn, hang Teddy Roosevelt's painting above the mantel and move FDR's portrait to the south wall.