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From Patent Room to Visitor Center:
You are standing in Baldirge Hall, home of the White House Visitor Center.
Located on the north end of the Department of Commerce headquarters, this room is named for Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige (1981-85). When the new Department of Commerce building opened in 1932, this pace originally served as the Patent Search Room. For the next 35 years, researchers came to Baldrige Hall to search more than three million patents cataloged by the Commerce Department. Baldrige Hall's rich historic legacy, stately architectural features, and proximity to the White House made it an ideal location for the White House Visitor Center, which opened in 1995. |