History & Tours > Eisenhower Executive Office Building Minton
tile floors are found in three rooms within the Eisenhower
Executive Office Building (EEOB). Manufactured by the Minton
Tile Company in Stoke-on-Trent, England, the tiles were also
used to surround many of the original fireplace hearths. The
tiled floors are found in the following rooms: Minton tiles are
called "encaustic tiles", meaning that the patterns and color in
the tile are encased in the depth of the tile. Encaustic tiles
are unique because their decorative designs are not glazed on
the surface, but are inlaid patterns created during the
manufacturing process. The process pours colored slips (liquid
clay) into deep molded patterns. When fired, the tiles are
durable and prevent the loss of color and design over the years.
As a result, very few of these tiles have had to be replaced at
the EEOB. Toward the end of the nineteenth century white
encaustic tiles with a black or gold design were common, as were
tiles with complicated colored patter