The East Wing of the White House, which will be torn down by this weekend to make way for President Trump’s new ballroom, has been a formal entryway, the site of social functions and a base for the first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt’s time.
The two-story wing, whose demolition has provoked outrage and alarmed historians and architects, was built under President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902, when it was called the East Terrace, and then rebuilt during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency to conceal a new underground emergency bunker. It also housed additional White House staff and offices and provided an entrance for guests during events.
Still standing are the president’s theater and a covered walkway called the East Colonnade that connects to the main residence, and the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, which sits just south of the colonnade. The garden, sometimes referred to as the East Garden or the First Lady’s Garden, has served as a location for outdoor receptions.
Directly below the East Wing lies the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, a bombproof underground bunker for the president that was built during World War II at the same time as the modern East Wing. It was unclear whether the ballroom construction would affect the bunker.
Vice President Dick Cheney was hustled to the bunker after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Mr. Trump was rushed there, too, during protests in 2020.
Lorenzo Winslow, the White House architect in the 1930s, designed and oversaw the construction of the East Wing and the bunker, as well as other features of the modern-day White House, including the balcony and major interior reconstruction during Harry Truman’s presidency.
The East Wing’s wartime reconstruction was met with fierce backlash as Republicans called the expenditure wasteful, according to the White House Historical Association.
But its utility quickly quelled criticism.
By the 1930s, Eleanor Roosevelt began employing more staff members as the first lady became a more public figure, using the East Wing for offices, official functions and news conferences.
As media attention on the first lady exploded during the Kennedy era, Jacqueline Kennedy expanded her East Wing operations to include a press secretary and other staff. An office formally dedicated to the first lady was planned under Betty Ford and opened under Rosalynn Carter in 1977, according to the White House Historical Association.
The eastern part of the White House has been evolving since the structure’s earliest days.
In the early 1800s, President Thomas Jefferson added the East Colonnade along with a matching colonnade and terrace on both sides of the main residence to serve as connections to service buildings. The original East Terrace was removed in 1866 and rebuilt in 1902 to serve as the main entrance for social events.
This precursor to the modern East Wing included a coat room, gallery and a circular driveway for guests as they passed from carriages into the elegant corridor, according to the White House Historical Association.
“Betty Ford had the best quote for how special the East Wing is: ‘If the West Wing is the mind of the nation, then the East Wing is the heart,” Anita McBride, who was chief of staff to Laura Bush when she was first lady, told East Wing Magazine. “The walls may be gone, but those East Wing stories must be preserved and shared for future generations.”
Ashley Ahn covers breaking news for The Times from New York.
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