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Washington: The White House’s historic East Wing is being almost entirely demolished to make way for President Donald Trump’s new $300 million-plus ballroom, despite Trump originally pledging the project would not involve destroying the existing building.
Bulldozers began the demolition job on Monday, while just steps away, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was meeting Trump in the West Wing on the opposite side of the complex. The East Wing traditionally houses the first lady’s offices and the White House social office, among other rooms.
Demolition of a section of the East Wing of the White House.Credit: Bloomberg
The rapid, unforetold knock-down of the East Wing has shocked historians, especially after Trump said the project “won’t interfere with the current building” when he announced it in July – though there were always doubts about that, given the size of the planned ballroom, which he said would accommodate 1000 people.
Trump said on Thursday (AEDT) that his team had determined “really knocking it down” was the best option after discussing plans with architects, though he claimed that “certain areas are being left”.
He downplayed the significance of the old East Wing, which was added in its most recent form by Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II.
“There was not much left from the original,” Trump said. “Over the course of 100 years, it was changed, the columns were removed, and it was a much different building … There was a storey added on, which was not particularly nice. It was never thought of as being much; it was a very small building.”
President Trump holds up an artist’s impression of the new ballroom interior while meeting NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.Credit: AP
Trump said it was better to gut the East Wing rather than “allowing [it] to hurt” the ballroom, which had been sought by various administrations.
“It’ll be one of the great ballrooms anywhere in the world,” he said. “I think there’ll be nothing like it. It’s being paid for 100 per cent by me and some friends of mine, donors. The government’s paying absolutely nothing.”
Trump noted many presidents had put their stamp on the White House over the years, although “this obviously would be the biggest change … in order to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure”.
Many parts of the White House are smaller than people imagine, and the largest room, the East Room, had capacity for about 200 people. It meant that for major events – such as a state dinner with a visiting foreign leader – guests were often seated under large marquees out on the south lawn.
In 2019, a state dinner for then-prime minister Scott Morrison was held in the White House Rose Garden.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“When it rains, it’s a disaster,” Trump said in July as he announced the plan. “People are schlepping down to the tent, it’s not a pretty sight.”
Stewart McLaurin, president of the nonpartisan White House Historical Association, has noted that the building is constantly changing, and various changes since its construction in 1792 have been controversial, including the East Wing itself, which was built during wartime.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation this week wrote to the National Capital Planning Commission outlining concerns about the 90,000-square-foot ballroom and its interaction with the rest of the building.
Carol Quillen, the trust’s president and chief executive, urged the Trump administration and the National Park Service to halt demolition until plans for the new ballroom had gone through the required public consultation, including with the NCPC and the Commission of Fine Arts.
“While the National Trust acknowledges the utility of a larger meeting space at the White House, we are deeply concerned that the massing and height of the proposed new construction will overwhelm the White House itself – it is 55,000 square feet (5100 square metres) – and may also permanently disrupt the carefully balanced classical design of the White House with its two smaller, and lower, East and West wings,” Quillen wrote.
Trump rejected accusations that he had not been transparent about his plans for the building. Holding up pictures of the future ballroom in the Oval Office on Thursday, he said: “I haven’t been transparent? Really? I’ve shown this to everybody that would listen. Third-grade reporters didn’t see it because they didn’t look.
“These pictures have been in newspapers, they’ve been all over the place … I think we’ve been more transparent than anybody’s ever been.”
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Loud banging from the demolition caught the attention of tourists walking past the south lawn of the White House this week, causing several people to stop briefly to see demolition excavators tearing down the roof.
“I think it’s a total waste of money and shows a complete lack of respect for historic buildings in our nation’s capital, but it’s totally not surprising. I am having PTSD from my bathroom remodel,” said Catheryn Koss, 52, of California. “I thought they said they were going to preserve it.”
Trump, a real estate developer who has built golf clubs, resorts and casinos, has dramatically changed the look and feel of the White House since returning to it in January.
He has paved over the Rose Garden, which is now branded the “Rose Garden Club”, decorated the Oval Office in gold trimmings and replaced much of the artwork.
On the colonnade next to the Rose Garden, the administration has installed a row of portraits of all former US presidents, except Joe Biden, whose picture has been replaced by one of an automatic pen.
With Reuters
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