The demolition of the East Wing of the White Home resulted within the destruction of the house of key items of American historical past and rooms which have been accessible to the general public for many years. The East Wing was first in-built 1902, and has been residence to every little thing from the workplaces of the First Woman to a 42-seat movie show.
The demolition was additionally a reversal of Donald Trump’s July 2025 pledge that not one of the present White Home infrastructure can be broken or destroyed as he builds his ballroom.
The Trump administration introduced plans to construct the huge ballroom the place the East Wing as soon as stood, and have acknowledged that it is going to be full effectively earlier than his 2029 exit from workplace.
Right here’s a take a look at a few of what was misplaced within the demolition:
First Woman command base
The East Wing had served as a sort of operational base for the First Woman ever since Rosalynn Carter moved her workplaces to the world in 1977.
Public tour entrance
Public excursions of the White Home have been suspended since Trump started demolition of the East Wing, which was the placement of the tour entrance. Visitors sometimes entered from the south facet of East Govt Avenue instantly into the East Wing, the place they may go to the State Eating Room, East Room, Blue Room, Pink Room, Inexperienced Room, and the Household Theater.
Jacqueline Kennedy backyard
Kennedy centered on each the Rose Backyard and the East Backyard after her husband assumed workplace in 1961 — a valiant effort partly because of the state of disrepair into which the White Home and grounds had fallen through the years. Woman Hen Johnson renamed the East Backyard the Jacqueline Kennedy Backyard in honor of these efforts.
Household theater
Official White Home Picture by Pete Souza
The 42-seat household movie show was additionally destroyed throughout the East Wing demolition. The theater dated again to 1942 beneath the Franklin Roosevelt administration and was initially the place the then-president would watch newsreels and World Struggle II updates. Every subsequent president screened motion pictures within the theater with some regularity — JFK watched “From Russia in Love” within the theater the night time earlier than he was shot, and Jimmy Carter screened practically 500 motion pictures within the theater throughout his time in workplace.
