The day after V-J Day, 16 August 1945, the Cabinet War Rooms shut down. For the first time since 1939, the lights of the Map Room were turned off.
In 1948, Parliament decided that the Rooms should be preserved, but it was not until 1981 when Margaret Thatcher decided to open the Rooms to the public.
Great effort was put into making the Rooms authentic in anticipation of the opening of them to the public. Even though rooms changed function throughout the war, a genuine appearance has been maintained, with books, maps, light fixtures, and signs as they were during the war.
