The government may be in the middle of a shutdown, but that hasn’t stopped work at the White House—construction work.
Demolition crews moved in on Monday to begin knocking down part of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Tearing down the East Wing marks the start of President Donald Trump‘s $200 million ballroom project, but he originally claimed it wouldn’t “interfere” with the existing structure.
Now, a portion of the East Wing has been demolished by heavy machinery brought in to start on the proposed ballroom. The backhoe ripped through the structure in which, according to the Washington Post, the “sounds of construction were audible on the White House campus.”
Everyone from the Secret Service to people at the Treasury Department stopped to watch the construction, according to the outlet.
When it was announced in July that a new ballroom would be built, the president implied that construction would not affect the existing White House.
“President Trump is a builder at heart and has an extraordinary eye for detail,” Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff, said back in July. “The President and the Trump White House are fully committed to working with the appropriate organizations to preserving the special history of the White House while building a beautiful ballroom that can be enjoyed by future Administrations and generations of Americans to come.”
A White House announcement said that the ballroom will be substantially separated from the main building of the White House. Still, at the same time, its theme and architectural heritage will be almost identical.
The site of the new ballroom will be where the reconstructed East Wing currently sits. The East Wing was built in 1902 and has been renovated and changed many times—with a second story added in 1942.
The new ballroom addition is about 90,000 square feet. Trump said the ballroom would be able to hold 999 people. Currently, only 200 people are allowed at the White House event space in the East Wing.
Ballroom plans
The president hosted a White House dinner for donors last week where he gave guests a ballroom plans update. Trump, along with private donors, are funding the ballroom project.
The president said the East Room is the largest area in the White House and described the future space as “phenomenal” and “one of the best anywhere in the world.”
He also described the new ballroom as having four sides of “bulletproof” glass that is “totally appropriate in color and in window shape.”
Historical construction
Construction at the historical home has been ongoing since Trump took office.
Trump decided to give the Rose Garden a redesign much to the dismay of critics who did not want an overhaul of the space that was installed in 1913 by first lady Ellen Louise Wilson, wife of President Woodrow Wilson.
The grassy space was one of the White House’s most iconic areas made famous by the rose bushes that lined the landscaped lawn.
The Rose Garden’s grassy space was paved over to make it safer and more convenient for people attending events—especially women wearing high heels.
Separate from the White House, the president revealed last week that he wants to build a new monument—an Arc de Triomphe-style arch near the Lincoln Memorial.
