Look Inside the White House Flower Shop, Speechwriter's Office and More Private Presidential Spots

Hosts of Today take viewers to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

By Samantha Schnurr Jan 12, 2016 3:43 PMTags

Thanks to the magic of television, Americans are finally getting a virtual tour of some of the most private presidential spots on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue just in time for President Barack Obama's final State of the Union address. 

During an exclusive episode of Today set entirely within the iconic home, the co-hosts of the morning news program took us inside some of the most personal rooms within the people's house, including the flower shop, Director of Speechwriting Cody Keenan's cramped but quaint office and even the presidential basketball court. 

First stop—like any other presidential occasion, flowers are in order for tonight's momentous occasion, and who better to lead the way down to the fragrant basement gem than former first daughter, Jenna Bush Hager

Overseen by the White House's first female chief usher Angella Reed, the shop's staff prepares floral arrangements for every official occasion, including state dinners and inaugurations. 

During such events, President Obama delivers remarks—often moving, powerful and at times, legendary. The man behind such prose is Keenan, a former intern on Obama's initial presidential campaign who rose up in the ranks nearly a decade since the president's election. 

In collaboration with the Commander-in-Chief, the curly-haired wordsmith pens thousands of words for the president to later perform in a windowless basement office where, according to Keenan, "the magic happens."

While Keenan and Reed are hard at work at their respective respective spaces, viewers were also gifted with rare glimpses of where the first family can unwind after a trying day.

While Matt Lauer shot hoops on the basketball court, Al Roker cozied up in the White House theater, which was originally a coat room that former president Franklin Roosevelt converted during his presidency. 

We only wish we had a theater as plush as that one to watch the president's last State of the Union address, but we guess our ordinary couch will just have to do. 

(E! and NBC are both party of the NBCUniversal family.)