With demolition of the East Wing of the White House that began in the fall complete, underground construction of the replacement is underway and above ground construction is set to begin early in April, according to NBC News.
President Donald J. Trump announced in July his plans to build a ballroom on the site of the East Wing, which was constructed in 1902 as a guest entrance to the White House and expanded in 1942 to house offices. Once complete, the new, 90,000-square-foot East Wing building will be larger than the 55,000-square-foot main White House residence and house a ballroom. When the project was announced in July, the White House said the project, expected to be finished before Trump leaves office, would cost $200 million. Recently, however, the president has estimated the cost to be $400 million.
Donors are expected to bear the cost. Donors include Amazon Apple, Comcast, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Lockheed Martin, Palantir, and T-Mobile.
President Trump wanted a large space to entertain large numbers of guests. The White House East Room’s capacity of 200 is far smaller than the new ballroom, which reportedly will be able to hold 999 people. Up until now, tents were erected on the White House lawn to gatherings larger than what the East Room could hold.
The White House stated that the new ballroom will be ready before Trump’s term ends in 2029, according to The Guardian.
The original East Wing was built in 1902 during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency and was originally called the East Terrace.
“President Thomas Jefferson had a colonnade built during his administration, reminding me of this same neoclassical structure of his primary residence in Monticello,” explained Dr. Eric Tuwalski, head of Archbishop Carroll’s history and social studies department. “During President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration, the East Wing was a guest entrance to the White House.”
The East Wing sat above the underground bunker built by Franklin D. Roosevelt, used by the president and staff. The First Lady and her staff also used the East Wing for many years, and it housed the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden.
President Trump’s team noted the White House has had a number of changes over the course of its more than 200-year history.
“Nearly every single president who has lived in this beautiful White House … has made modernizations and renovations of their own,” stated Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, according to CNN.
Dr. Tuwalski suggested what the administration plans to do is not different from what other countries do when they showcase their leaders’ place of residence as they greet foreign dignitaries.
“’We the People’” should be proud as Americans to have this opportunity to have an enhancement to the East Wing as our way of showcasing American Patriotism to the World,” he said.
The ballroom project is one in a long line of changes presidents have made to the Washington, D.C., property, according to Mr. Andrew Cavara, Carroll’s college resource officer.
“The White House has gone through many renovations over the years, so I do not have an objection to this new construction, although I am interested to see what the size of the new construction will be because of reports that it could be bigger than the main part of the White House,” Mr. Cavara said.
The project has faced backlash. The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued the Trump Administration, arguing the demolition of the East Wing and the construction of the ballroom moved forward without proper approvals, including from Congress. A federal judge said last week that the administration must file plans with the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts by the end of 2025, according to The Architect’s Newspaper. If the plans aren’t filed, then the judge said he would order that the newly installed foundation be removed, The Architect’s Newspaper said.
The official presidential historian for the New York Historical Society expressed shock when the East Wing was demolished at the end of October to make way for the new building.
“Maybe it’s just the dislike of change on my part, but it seemed painful, almost like slashing a Rembrandt painting, or defacing a Michelangelo sculpture,” historian Douglas Brinkley said to WTOP News of Washington, D.C..
The White House said it has taken the necessary measures to preserve important artifacts from the East Wing, according to CNN.
A speechwriter for former Republican president George W. Bush also criticized the demolition of the East Wing.
“Something profoundly symbolic about Trump taking a wrecking ball to the White House … paying for the demolition with money from cronies and insiders seeking government favors … and the Republicans in Congress acquiescing as Trump treats public assets as private property,” Frum tweeted, according to the Guardian.
In Congress, however, most criticism came from Democrats. Republicans have expressed support for the move.
