Crews continued on Wednesday to demolish the East Wing of the White House, as the National Trust for Historic Preservation called for a pause on construction of a new ballroom.
The nonprofit group, created by Congress to preserve historic buildings, says the plans for the 90,000-square-foot building need to go through a public review process required by law. The White House says the laws and processes may cover construction, but they don’t cover demolition.
For historians, it’s painful to see the demolition, said Kate Andersen Brower, the author of “First Women: The Grace & Power of America’s Modern First Ladies” and “The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House.”
The East Wing has traditionally been home to the offices of the first lady.
“I think there’s a definite diminishment of the first lady’s role,” Andersen Brower said. “If she’s not going to be working in the White House or having her staff around her, then she’s not going to be in the middle, in the thick of things.”
4 questions with Kate Andersen Brower
When was the last time the White House underwent major renovations? Who usually pays for it?
“The last major renovation was [former] President Harry Truman’s term, the late 1940s, early 1950s.
“And it’s usually paid for with taxpayer money.
“We have not seen anything of this scope, I think that’s important to note, since the Truman renovation. And that was for structural reasons. The house was literally unsafe, and so he and his wife and daughter lived in Blair House across the street. This is obviously very different. It’s going to be, according to President Trump, paid for with private funds.”
We’re talking about $200 million. Is that problematic?
“It is. I think ethically speaking, the concern then becomes who’s giving the money for what purpose. We know, for instance, with the Truman renovation that the Truman Balcony was something that was really controversial at the time, and now it’s one of the most beloved parts of the White House for the president and their family to be sitting outside looking out on the South Lawn.
“Harry Truman raised private funds for that himself. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer, but he did go through the channels to get approval for this renovation. And we’re not seeing President Trump do the same thing.”
A White House official who spoke to NPR on the condition of anonymity said that historical artifacts of the East Wing were preserved and stored before construction began. They cited items from Rosalyn Carter’s office. Why her artifacts?
“She is such an interesting first lady. She is really the first first lady to use the East Wing. She started working out of the East Wing in 1977, going there every single day with her staff, really professionalizing the role of the first lady. I know we think of Eleanor Roosevelt as this incredible role model, but she often worked out of the residence. As did other first ladies before and after.
“Nancy Reagan worked from the residence quite often. We have not seen Melania Trump very often in the White House or in the East Wing. In fact, I talked to an aide to Dr. Jill Biden who said that there were so little office space in the East Wing because a lot of it had already been given up to the military office that she had to work out of the Eisenhower Executive Office building next door, which was problematic when you’re trying to write speeches and work one-on-one with the first lady.”
Is Trump correct that the ballroom is necessary?
“I don’t think that it has to be of this size and scope, two football fields big and larger than the White House itself. It’s not gonna be proportional, but there is an argument to have some that are entertaining space at the White House.”
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
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Jenna Griffiths produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Michael Scotto. Allison Hagan produced it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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