A museum visit often culminates with a memorable stop at the gift shop—and at “The People’s House,” this experience is elevated to an entirely new level. Tasked with creating an engaging visual recap of the White House history tour conducted within the main museum space, along with upcoming events, trivia and other interesting tidbits, technology integrator Design & Production Incorporated (D&P) turned to long-time partner Digital Projection to deliver a custom curved LED video wall worthy of this prestigious digital signage project.

This stunning display not only draws guests in but also encourages them to linger, inspiring extended browsing and shopping. Complemented by other interactive reenactments and historical vignettes throughout the 21,000-square-foot exhibit, the installation helped earn D&P a coveted Inavation Award for excellence in museum technology.

The People’s House, located at the iconic 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, offers a dynamic multimedia exploration of White House history, featuring advanced lighting, audio, video, and graphics. Through these technologies, visitors gain unprecedented insights into White House treasures and spaces typically inaccessible to the public. The retail space, while the final destination of the tour, creates a long-lasting impression of this national high-tech treasure.

A Visionary Project on Pennsylvania Avenue
Per the final architectural renderings by the design team at Ralph Appelbaum Associates, the display for the state-of-the-art retail space needed to span a remarkable 66 feet in width and 5 feet in height, wrapping the curved perimeter walls with immersive, dynamic content. Part of a comprehensive redevelopment project just a block from the White House at 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, the installation aimed to complement a museum hailed by The Washington Post as “the most high-tech to date—a model of cutting-edge museum design.”

Technical Complexity Meets Tight Deadlines

D&P, known for its exceptional expertise in designing and integrating technology in museum environments, implemented a wide range of imaging solutions throughout the venue to reenact history and full-size historical scenes, including transparent OLED screens, interactive touchscreens, projection systems, and holographic displays. The retail space, while less illustrative of While House history, represented one of the most challenging parts of the project.

“What started as an optional 36-foot LED wall budget line item quickly evolved into a centerpiece display critical for delivering impactful media content,” says D&P project manager Sue Lepp. “It needed to be current with today’s retail venues, visually striking in daylight, and bright enough to capture attention across the room and from the street. At the same time, it needed to meet our client’s stringent aesthetic and power-efficiency requirements.”

Further complicating matters, the White House Historical Association (WHHA) issued several design revisions while maintaining a tight project timeline. With deadlines looming, D&P knew they needed a trusted partner to deliver under pressure. Digital Projection, D&P’s go-to high-performance imaging provider since the early ’90s, stepped up with a fully customized solution.

Seamless Execution in Record Time

Leveraging 3D concepts provided by Ralph Appelbaum Associates, Digital Projection swiftly specified, configured, installed, and calibrated the bespoke LED wall. Once the supporting structure for the video wall frame was constructed, 3D scans of the multi-radius surface were taken to ensure a precise fit with minimal adjustments. “The Digital Projection team arrived on-site and completed the entire installation in just eight days—two days ahead of schedule,” notes Lepp.

D&P credits Digital Projection’s “white glove” service and technical expertise for making the fast-paced turnaround possible. The size and clarity of content presented on the seamlessly tiled 1.8mm pixel pitch LED panels captivate visitors as the stroll the store, giving them compelling content and reasons to return to the exhibit for special events and other activities.

Contact us for more information about Digital Projection, its cutting-edge LED video wall and projection solutions, advanced imaging technologies, and legendary white-glove service and support.