Trump starts tearing down part of the East Wing of the White House to make room for a $250 million ballroom
Parts of the East Wing of the White House have been torn down so that Trump can start building a $250 million ballroom.
A controversial new addition to the White House, a $250 million ballroom project pushed by US President Donald Trump, has begun to be built. On Monday, crews started taking down parts of the East Wing, such as the covered entranceway and windows, to make room for what Trump has called a “fully modernized” addition.
On social media, the president shared the news, saying that “ground has been broken” on what he called a “much-needed” hall. “For more than 150 years, every president has dreamed of having a ballroom at the White House to host big parties and state visits,” Trump wrote. He also said that “many generous patriots” would pay for the project privately, but no donors have been named yet.
Trump said that the new hall would be “near but not touching” the old building. He has also said that the project will respect the historic nature of the White House. “It won’t go against the current building…” He told reporters in July, “It shows respect for the existing building, which is what I like most about it.”
The East Wing was built in 1902 and last changed in 1942. It is where important offices and the First Lady’s staff are located. From the complex’s south side, a number of big pieces of construction equipment could be seen, with many of them flying US flags. The White House has shared rough sketches of the ballroom, which will have hundreds of seats and fancy decorations like gold chandeliers.
But preservationists and scholars are worried about what they call a rushed and unclear process. Robert K. Sutton, who used to be the National Park Service’s (NPS) top historian, said that there should have been a formal review. “This building is so important—it’s thought to be the world’s most important executive home.” “But we have no idea what’s going on, and that’s not right,” he told the BBC.
The American Institute of Architects and the Society of Architectural Historians have both said that there needs to be more openness and a strict review of designs. The first said that the planned addition would be “the first major change to the White House’s exterior in over 80 years” and that it should not go forward until it has been carefully thought through.
Clark Construction has been chosen by the Trump government to be the project’s contractor, and McCrery Architects will be in charge of the design. A builder named Jim McCrery said, “I am honored that President Trump has asked me to help bring this beautiful and necessary renovation to The People’s House.”
There have already been big changes to the look of the White House under Trump’s watch, from the controversial paving over of the Rose Garden lawn to the redecorating of the Oval Office in gold. But, as scholars point out, almost every president since 1945 has changed something about the White House. For basketball games, Barack Obama turned the tennis court into a meeting room. Richard Nixon turned Franklin Roosevelt’s indoor pool into a press briefing room. And between 1948 and 1952, Harry Truman famously led a full rebuilding of the building.
However, a lot of people say that this project is a bigger step away from the norm. He warned, “It’s always been known as the People’s House.” It’s now a worry that it’s becoming more about one man’s tastes than about the past of the whole country.
