White House East Wing Demolished for New Ballroom
The East Wing of the White House has been fully demolished to make way for President Trump's new 90,000-square-foot ballroom project. (No, there’s not an extra zero in that number.) A backhoe tore through part of the East Wing on Thursday as construction began on what Trump calls "probably the finest ballroom ever built," with costs now estimated at $250-$300 million—increased from the original $200 million estimate. Trump has said he and private donors will pay the full tab.
President Trump initially said his planned ballroom wouldn't interfere with the existing White House but said Thursday that “after really a tremendous amount of study with some of the best architects in the world, we determined that really knocking it down ... in order to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure.”
The East Wing was originally built in 1902, later expanded by FDR in 1942, and is home to the First Lady's and visitor offices. The ballroom is the biggest structural change to the Executive Mansion since the Truman Balcony was added in 1948. President Trump plans for the ballroom to be ready “long before” he leaves office in January 2029. Currently, the largest State Dinner that can be held indoors at the White House seats 200 people, in the East Room. Dinners larger than this must be held in a tent. The new ballroom will have a seated capacity of 650 people.
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