What does the president of the U.S. have that you don’t have?
Access to the Oval Office, for one.
But you can fix that if you make your way to the airport in the small southern Oregon town of Medford.
Back in 2011, not long after its new terminal building was completed, Oregon’s Rogue Valley International Medford Airport (MFR) floated a scheme to sell advertising on its control tower.
That proposal was blocked, but another revenue-generating idea sailed through with unanimous support.
With the help of more than two dozen local sponsors and images found on the internet, then-airport director Bern Case transformed an empty rectangular space on the second floor of the terminal into a meeting room patterned after the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Like the real Oval Office, the airport’s Oval Office has long couches facing each other, as well as a fireplace, antique-style furnishings, flags on stands, wood flooring and a rug with a presidential seal.
Realistic wall graphics add “doors” that appear to lead to other White House offices, bookshelves and a trio of three windows offering splendid “views” out to the White House Rose Garden.
There’s even a version of the Resolute desk patterned after the impressive oak desk that sits in the official Oval Office that has been used by every U.S. president since Rutherford B. Hayes (except for former Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford). The Resolute desk at the Medford airport came from 15 miles away in Ashland, Oregon, where it was once used in a play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
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Back in 2012, when the airport first unveiled its Oval Office, Case said the airport hoped the attraction would “generate some dollars, add some culture and history to our community and give people something to do.”
Since then, the faux Oval Office has been used for everything from weddings, TV commercial backdrops and film shoots to business meetings, catered dinners and election night parties.
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Anyone, including you or the duly elected U.S. president, can rent the airport’s Oval Office for $165 for a full day, $95 for up to four hours or $25 for a 15-minute photo op.
Current airport director Amber Judd says that while revenue from Oval Office rentals makes up a very small portion of the airport’s overall budget, she’s determined to keep the unusual amenity intact through an upcoming terminal expansion.
“It’s a unique thing for the community to enjoy and another reason to come to the airport,” she said. And for anyone interested in booking the airport Oval Office on Nov. 5 for an election day watch party, Judd said, “It’s currently open and available.”
If you can’t make it to Medford but are still interested in experiencing what it’s like to sit behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office, you can also check out The People’s House: A White House Experience in D.C. The museum — which is operated by the White House Historical Association and sits across the street from the White House — includes a full-scale replica of the Oval Office. Timed entry passes are free.
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Other cool amenities at MFR
Medford’s airport serves about a million passengers a year and offers direct flights to 12 destinations, depending on the season.
In addition to the Oval Office, MFR has some other amenities popular with locals and area visitors.
There’s an open-air observation deck accessible to the public where passengers and guests can watch planes come and go. They can also enjoy a snack or meal from the adjacent Sky House Bar & Grill. (Judd recommends the turkey bacon avocado sandwich dubbed the Sky House Melt.)
Nearby, there’s a historic aircraft, a Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter, that the airport also rents out for meetings, events or parties at the same rates as the Oval Office. This plane first went into service in 1952 and flew around the world as part of the 306th Bombardment Wing, the 44th Bombardment Wing and the 44th Refueling Wing. It was converted from a Stratotanker to a KC-97 Stratofreighter and used in troop and cargo transport.
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