Memo says White House was ‘excellently preserved’ during East Wing demolition
The east facade of the White House mansion appears to have been “perfectly preserved” when demolition crews demolished the east wing to make way for President Donald Trump’s planned ballroom, an administration official said in a memo released Friday.
Contractors took care to protect the White House residence during the demolition, keeping heavy equipment at a safe distance and removing some pieces by hand, Joshua Fisher, director of the White House Administration Office, wrote to the commission tasked with approving Trump’s ballroom plans. Some sections of the building were stabilized in advance and vibrations and crack movements were monitored, he wrote.
The National Capital Planning Commission, led by a top Trump aide, had requested more details about the demolition that began with little notice last fall. The agency has jurisdiction over construction and major renovations of government buildings in the region.
The demolition of the East Wing sparked public outcry when it began without the independent reviews, congressional approval and public comment that are typical for even relatively minor changes to Washington’s historic buildings. The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to stop construction of the ballroom.
The memo documents the history of the East Wing dating back to the presidency of Thomas Jefferson and outlines the White House’s rationale for demolishing it, saying it was not possible to preserve it while still achieving Trump’s goals for the project. The completed ballroom will include an improved visitors center for security screenings and reduce the need for road closures during major events, Fisher wrote.
Conservators documented and preserved historically significant artwork, furniture and other objects, including “the cornerstone and plaque of the East Wing, the furniture of the movie theater, the columns of the East Colonnade, the columns of the Porte cochère, interior woodwork, chandeliers, historic windows and doors, and other hardware and fixtures,” he wrote.
“Our goal is to ensure that some of these elements are integrated into the new structure,” Fisher added.
Engineers are studying whether the west colonnade, which connects the White House residence to the West Wing offices, can support a second story that would make it visually more symmetrical with plans for a larger east colonnade connecting the ballroom, the memo said. No decision has been made.
The White House also submitted the most detailed renderings of the ballroom released to date. It shows a massive new building that dwarfs the size of the demolished east wing and matches the height of the historic White House mansion.
The project is expected to be discussed at a March 5 meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission.
