(NEXSTAR) – There are plenty of sights to be seen at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, like former President Donald Trump’s bandaged ear, extensive security, and celebrity appearances.
However, tucked into a room near the Convention Fest, RNC visitors have the chance to walk through something they may have never experienced: the Oval Office.
Technically, it isn’t the real Oval Office. An aisle demarcated by red velvet ropes through the middle, the lack of a ceiling, fake window backgrounds that aren’t exactly accurate — and, for Oval Office experts, a shorter diameter — serve as a reminder that this is, instead, a display.
The display itself belongs to Jimmy Warlick, who also owns White House Gifts, just steps from the White House. The former Hill staffer also has an extensive collection of historical artifacts, including one of President John F. Kennedy’s limousines.
His Oval Office displays — he tells Nexstar he has a handful — have even been loaned out to Hollywood. The model at the RNC is one of them. It was not only built by Paramount, but featured in a film focused on President Lyndon B. Johnson.
This mock Oval Office, designed with the Ronald Reagan era in mind, serves as more than just a bit of entertainment. In a way, it gives Americans access to a space they may never see with their own eyes, Dee Dee Perkins, a greeter and sharer of history (and Warlick’s cousin), explains.
Walking in, you’re quickly drawn to the pair of white couches in front of the fireplace, with a portrait — not the genuine painting, of course — of President George Washington. Flanking the fireplace are portraits of Presidents Andrew Jackson (Trump had the same portrait in his Oval Office) and Thomas Jefferson.
On the opposite side of the space, you’ll find yourself face-to-face with a model of the Resolute desk. A second model can be found just outside the mock Oval Office, where guests are allowed to take their own presidential portraits. (In real life, that area is the terrace outside the Oval Office, just off the Rose Garden.)
SLIDESHOW: Inside the replica Oval Office at the RNC
As Perkins notes, only three presidents have not used the Resolute desk since it was gifted to President Rutherford B. Hayes by Queen Victoria in 1880 — Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Gerald R. Ford. (Technically, George H.W. Bush only used it for a few months.)
Various other replica artifacts can also be found throughout the room. Atop the desk are two phones — one white, another reddish-orange (a nod to the “red phone” rumored to exist and connect the U.S. and Russia) — as well as Frederic Remington’s sculpture “The Sergeant” and an eagle bust. Behind the Resolute desk is another table with photos, including one of President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan.
To the left is the official White House portrait of President John F. Kennedy. Next to it is a grandfather clock, which looks similar to the Seymour Tall Case Clock, a staple of Oval Office décor. On the opposite side is a replica of Childe Hassam’s “Avenue in the Rain” painting — a work which was in the Oval Offices of Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and now Joe Biden.
As visitors move through the room, they come to bookshelves on either side of the walkway, sporting various titles focused on Kennedy, as well as “The Ultimate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom” by Dr. Phil, James F. David’s “Judgment Day,” volumes of “Reader’s Digest Condensed Books,” and encyclopedias.
Leaving the oval expanse, guests will also find another unique display, this one featuring shoes worn by multiple past presidents, including Trump, Reagan, Nixon, Kennedy, and Lincoln.
SLIDESHOW: Shoes worn by past presidents on display
The Oval Office display won’t be traveling to the DNC in Chicago this year, but it may be available to reserve, along with other parts of Warlick’s collection, for your own events.