Presidents come and go but the White House stands as a constant symbol of American power and tradition – or does it?
Last month crews demolished parts of the iconic building that have stood for over 120 years as Donald Trump’s plan to build a new ballroom gets under way.
The dramatic images of the East Wing being reduced to rubble were the most visible sign so far of how Trump is seeking to remake the White House in his own image, almost one year after being re-elected as US president.
Among those to have voiced concern is the leader of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a non-profit group that protects historic US sites, who wrote a letter to White House officials asking for the demolition work to be paused until plans go through a public review process.
Dr Carol Quillen said she was “deeply concerned” that the new building will “overwhelm the White House itself and may also permanently disrupt the carefully balanced classical design of the White House with its two smaller, and lower, East and West Wings”.
But just a couple of days after Dr Quillen sent her letter, the East Wing was gone.
Historic artefacts that were housed in the building have been “preserved and stored” by the White House curator, who is responsible for taking care of historically significant items in the presidential residence.
The White House Historical Association, an independent organisation that preserves the history of building, also carried out a “comprehensive digital scanning project and photography to create a historic record” before the demolition.
But the pictures that emerged of heavy machinery knocking down the building, which was built in 1902, caused many Americans to react with surprise, shock and even anger – especially since Trump himself had said the work wouldn’t damage the existing structure.
Announcing the ballroom plans in July
After the demolition started, however, Trump said that the East Wing had to come down entirely “to do it properly,” saying the decision was made after a “tremendous amount of study with some of the best architects in the world”.
Trump says the ballroom is something every president has dreamt of for more than 150 years and will be “the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world”.
The administration says the ballroom will eliminate the need for a “large and unsightly tent” to be installed for big events like state dinners and a former White House executive chef noted that catering for outdoor events can be very difficult for staff.
“Nobody wants to talk about that part of it, unless you are actually out there and slushing through mud,” Martin Mongiello, now a White House historian, told the BBC. “It can be a nightmare. A muddy, filthy nightmare.”
Trump has estimated the project will cost some $300m (£225m) and expects it to be completed before the end of his term. It is being funded, according to Trump, by the president himself and donors including dozens of companies, such as Amazon, Google and Meta, and several billionaire investors.
The funding model has sparked concern among some legal experts who say it may amount to paying for access to the administration. But that outcry appears unlikely to slow the president’s desire to put his stamp on the White House.
‘A real dump’
Trump’s relationship with 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has long been complicated. During his first term, he reportedly described it as “a real dump” and frequently decamped to Mar-a-Lago, the luxury mansion and members club he owns on Palm Beach in Florida.
In his second term, however, he appears determined to embrace the historic residence and reshape it in his own image.
The first sign of that ambition came with an Oval Office makeover, transforming what had been a relatively understated space into a lavish display of gold accents and ornate furnishings.
The contrast with the décor favoured by his recent predecessors – and even during his first term – is striking.
Trump said the decorations were “the highest quality 24-carat gold” and boasted on his social media platform Truth Social: “Foreign Leaders, and everyone else, ‘freak out’ when they see the quality and beauty. Best Oval Office ever, in terms of success and look!!!”
Not everyone is impressed though. Tommy Landen Huerter, a New York City-based interior designer whose posts on the changes have gone viral on social media, believes that the former property developer is “imposing” the design standards of many of his hotels on the White House.
“All the gilding and ornamentation is very baroque. It’s just stamped on a place it really doesn’t belong,” Mr Huerter told the BBC, adding that these palace-like features were intentionally left out of the original design of the White House to emphasise the US was not a monarchy.
The gold theme is continued elsewhere in the West Wing. The cabinet room has had similar gold decorations hung on the walls while Trump recently unveiled a new “Presidential Walk of Fame” featuring gold-framed portraits of past US presidents.
The portraits line the West Colonnade, the main walkway between the West Wing and the White House residence, and show every president in chronological order – apart from Joe Biden.
Instead of a portrait honouring Trump’s rival, the frame has a picture of an autopen – a mechanical device that replicates signatures – signing Biden’s name. Trump has previously accused Biden of signing important documents with an autopen during his presidency because he was unfit to sign them himself, despite producing no evidence for the claim.
The West Colonnade looks over the Rose Garden, which has also seen some dramatic changes in recent months. Originally a stable yard, the space has been known as the Rose Garden for more than 100 years and was redesigned to hold events under President John F Kennedy.
Press conferences have been held regularly in the garden for decades with a presidential podium and rows of chairs being lined up on the grass – but Trump was not a fan, saying “everybody would just sink into the mud”.
So over the summer, the garden was dug up and replaced by a patio of “beautiful white stone”.
A prominent US flag flies over the new-look Rose Garden – one of two new flag poles installed in June that measure 100ft (30.5m) in height and were paid for by the president.
Many internet sleuths have pointed out that the new paved garden resembles the pool patio at Mar-a-Lago – and that’s by design rather than coincidence.
The yellow and white parasols are made by the same manufacturer as those at Trump’s beach club in Florida and the White House has now branded the space as the Rose Garden Club.
Asked whether he was happy with the renovation, Trump said it had had “great reviews,” without specifying who from.
Does Trump have more White House renovations in mind? “Not to my knowledge, no,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the BBC. “But he is a builder at heart. And so his heart, and his mind, is always churning about how to improve things.”
‘Arc de Trump’
While the White House construction may end after the ballroom is complete, Trump has signalled his intention to continue building his legacy elsewhere around Washington DC.
Last month he revealed plans to build a triumphal arch across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial, in the centre of the US capital, to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary of independence next year.
Speaking at a dinner with donors to the ballroom project, Trump said there were three versions of the arch under consideration – small, medium and large – but that he liked the largest one the best.
The White House has not released any details about when construction might begin or how much the project might cost, but Trump says it will be funded by private donors.
It’s also unclear if it will be ready for the 2026 anniversary celebrations. What is clear, however, is that while most US presidents have tried to build a legacy while in office, Trump is doing so in the most literal sense.
BBC
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