The East Wing of the White House was demolished. Here’s a look at its history

The East Wing of the White House, the traditional residence of the first lady and her staff as well as the public entrance to the “People’s House,” was largely demolished this week to make way for President Donald Trump’s new $300 million stateroom.

Trump described the planned 90,000-square-foot space as an attempt to modernize the East Wing. Trump officials say the construction follows legal and historical precedent.

But photos that emerged this week of construction equipment demolishing the facade sparked outrage over the lack of oversight of the project and raised questions about its scope.

Two satellite views show the East Wing of the White House before (top) and after demolition (below) in Washington, D.C. Images by 2025 Planet Labs PBC via Reuters

A Virginia couple filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Thursday in an attempt to stop the hall project. Charles and Judith Voorhees asked a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order to stop further destruction of the mansion, saying the project moved forward “without legally required approvals or reviews.”

Read more: Who pays for Trump’s $300 million auditorium?

Several preservation groups have expressed concern in recent weeks about the project, the first major change to the White House’s exterior in 83 years. Collectively, their separate statements said a more transparent and comprehensive review process was needed before the hall project could begin.

Priya Jain, chair of the Society of Architectural Historians’ Heritage Preservation Committee, said communications about how the hall project would impact the building’s main structure were confusing from the beginning.

“There was some ambiguity about the way things were framed from the beginning,” she said, adding that the association’s letter asked for more clarification and transparency around the White House’s statements, given that the palace is a very important historical building.

In statements to reporters last week, Trump said that unnamed advisors told him that construction of the hall could begin immediately, ignoring any oversight or zoning. He said the advisers told him: “Sir, this is the White House. You are the president of the United States. You can do anything you want.”

What is the history of the East Wing? How has it changed over time?

Author Kate Andersen Brewer said that by razing the East Wing of the White House, “we are losing a huge part of history.”

The wing, originally constructed in 1902 and renovated in 1942, served as the public entrance to the White House and housed the family movie theater as well as the offices of legislative affairs, the military, and the in-house calligraphers. Perhaps most notably, it included office space for the First Lady and her aides.

Rosalynn Carter was the first presidential spouse to maintain an office in the East Wing, Brewer said. Before that, many First Ladies worked outside the home in a living room near their bedrooms.

For Brewer, who wrote “Residency” about daily life inside the White House and “First Women” about the role of modern-day first ladies, what happened to the East Wing “speaks volumes about how much the role of the president’s wife has diminished.”

“In fact, the center of power in the White House is always the Oval Office and the West Wing, and proximity to the Oval Office is very important,” she added. “If you have the first lady and her staff working in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which I think probably will happen, they’re further removed from the center of power. I mean the East Wing was called ‘Siberia’ as a joke inside the White House. If there’s anything furthest from Siberia, this is it.”

President Barack Obama with Melissa Winter, aide to First Lady Michelle Obama, in the East Wing, March 2009. Source: National Archives

During Thursday’s White House press briefing, Leavitt noted that the first lady’s offices would once again move to the reconstructed East Wing.

Brewer noted that during Donald Trump’s first term as president, First Lady Melania Trump did not use her office in the East Wing.

“It was so vacant, basically, that their employees used it as a gift-wrapping room and put the gifts there,” she said.

Is the White House exempt from the preservation process?

Watch the clip in the player above.

The United States has a long-standing process for evaluating a federal or federally supported project in terms of its impact on historic and cultural buildings, Jain said.

A key part of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 is the Section 106 review process. It outlines steps that various stakeholders and agencies must follow, such as determining whether any one project will have adverse impacts on the structure, and developing alternative approaches that will avoid or minimize these impacts on these properties.

However, three buildings and their grounds are exempt Among the requirements of Section 106: the US Supreme Court, the US Capitol, and the White House.

“For this reason, the formal 106 process has not begun,” said Jain, who is also an associate professor of architecture at Texas A&M University.

This does not mean that the White House cannot or has not taken preservation into account in the past. She added that before Trump, previous projects were advanced after consultation with the National Park Service and other agencies.

Ginn pointed to a comprehensive plan issued in 2000 for a project assessing the conservation and management needs of a parcel of land that includes the White House and President’s Garden. The design plan was drafted after preparing an environmental impact assessment and analyzing public comments. It also identified all relevant agencies.

Carolyn Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said the demolition of the East Wing of the White House is necessary for a “strong and stable” ballroom. Video from PBS News

White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt responded to multiple questions about the lack of oversight of the project on Thursday, saying Trump was following legal precedent. She also uploaded several photos of past renovation projects that she said show how the president’s decision on the East Wing aligns with actions taken by other presidents.

“There have been many presidents in the past who have left their mark on this beautiful White House complex,” she said. “I think we sit here today and we are all grateful for those efforts and the adjustments that occurred at that time.”

Leavitt also said the administration has made it clear the east wing will be “modernized” since the project was announced earlier this year.

The Trump administration has said it will release plans for its auditorium for review, though officials have not said when it will do so, and demolition is already underway.

The White House did not respond to a question from PBS News about whether or when the administration would submit plans for the ballroom.

What will happen to the items in the East Wing?

The White House Historical Association said in a statement to PBS News on Wednesday that a “comprehensive digital survey project” and photographic record of the East Wing and gardens had been created when the construction project was announced in July.

The association added that the historical artifacts that were located in the eastern wing “were preserved and stored.”

Guests arrive for Alice Roosevelt’s wedding, The White House, Washington, D.C., 1906. Image by Keystone View Company via Library of Congress

The society’s website offers a 360-degree virtual tour of the White House, including the eastern portion that has since been demolished.

“The White House is not a private building.”

Although Americans may have been OK in the past with adding more to the White House, the project, as it stands, “takes a wrecking ball to the East Wing,” Brewer said.

“I think Americans feel so emotionally attached to the council itself that it is difficult to bear watching parts of it being destroyed, demolished and bulldozed,” she said. “It’s just heartbreaking.”

The American Institute of Architects, in its statement and letter about the project in August, emphasized that although the project may be funded by private donors, “the White House is not a private building.”

In a follow-up statement on Friday, the institute condemned the demolition and urged decision-makers to “halt any further irreversible change to the historic fabric,” publish full documentation of the project’s scope, as well as the budget and timeline, and “reopen meaningful engagement” with the public.

The CIA advised its members to urge Congress to launch an investigation into how the administration proceeded “without committing to any process or review.”

“[The White House] “It’s something that belongs to the American people, like a lot of other federal buildings,” Jain said, adding that SAH “wanted to emphasize that given the visibility of this project and its public nature, it really has the potential to impact how we treat and approach historic buildings more broadly in the country.”

The White House said the project is expected to be completed before the end of Trump’s term.

White House correspondent Liz Landers contributed to this report.