It’s possible that for generations of Americans this past week will be remembered for when the East Wing of the White House was demolished to make way for President Donald Trump’s $300 million ballroom.
This photo provided by the U.S. Library of Congress shows the East entrance of the White House, Washington, in 1906.
(U.S. Library of Congress via AP)
U.S. Library of Congress via AP
This photo provided by the U.S. Library of Congress shows a crowd outside the White House on the wedding day of Jessie Woodrow Wilson, daughter of President Wilson who married Francis Bowes Sayre, in a White House ceremony in Washington, Nov. 25, 1913.
(U.S. Library of Congress via AP)
U.S. Library of Congress via AP
Liz Carpenter, press secretary and staff director for first lady Lady Bird Johnson, poses for a photo in her office in the East Wing of the White House in D.C., Dec. 9, 1963. On the walls are her Theta Sigma Phi Headliner Award and two photos of Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson.
(AP Photo/Harvey Georges, File)
AP Photo/Harvey Georges, File
President Bush waves as walks away from the East Wing of the White House to the neighboring Treasury Building for the swearing-in of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, July 10, 2006 in Washington. At right is Chief of Staff Joshua Bolton.
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File
First lady Laura Bush, left, meets with U.N. Special Adviser on Burma Ibrahim Gambari in her East Wing office of the White House in Washington, Dec. 17, 2007.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File
The East Wing hallway of the White House is decorated for the holiday season, Nov. 29, 2016, in Washington.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File
Vice President Kamala Harris participates in a swearing-in ceremony with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Yellen’s husband George Akerlof, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, at the White House in Washington. The Treasury building stands behind.
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
A Marine White House Military social aide holds the door to the East Wing entrance of the White House during a press preview of the White House holiday decorations, Monday, Nov. 29, 2021, in Washington.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
The entrance to the East Wing of the White House is decorated for the holiday season during a press preview of holiday decorations at the White House, Monday, Nov. 28, 2022, in Washington.
(AP/Patrick Semansky)
AP/Patrick Semansky
Work continues on the demolition of a part of the East Wing of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Washington, before construction of a new ballroom.
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Work begins on the demolition of a part of the East Wing of the White House, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, in Washington, before construction of a new ballroom.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Work begins on the demolition of a part of the East Wing of the White House, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, in Washington, before construction of a new ballroom.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
It’s possible that for generations of Americans, this past week will be remembered for when the East Wing of the White House was demolished to make way for President Donald Trump’s $300 million ballroom.
While for some it may seem like both the East and West wings have been a part of the Executive Mansion since President John Adams moved in back on Nov. 1, 1800, the truth is both the East and West Wings were built to accommodate the large family of the president who officially named the mansion, The White House.
A little over 100 years after Adams made Pennsylvania Avenue home, Theodore Roosevelt realized with his six children, he was going to need more room upstairs in the Executive Mansion and to move his “home office” someplace else.
Colleen J. Shogan, the 11th Archivist of the United States, told WTOP that the 26th President needed to expand the West Wing for office space and The East Wing was more for socializing.
“They started to welcome more and more visitors to the White House for formal events and needed a place for the carriages to drive up, and then eventually, when cars were in place,” said Shogan.
While Thomas Jefferson had an east and west colonnade built at the Executive Mansion, it was not until Teddy Roosevelt that a structure was built.
The next change for the East Wing would take place 40 years later while Teddy Roosevelt’s cousin was Commander in Chief.
“The East Wing we know today occurred under Franklin Roosevelt,” said Shogan. “The East Wing actually was modernized and there were two floors built.”
Shogan, who also served as senior vice president of The White House Historical Association, said along with being the place you would enter when visiting the White House on a tour or for a formal event, the space also included a workspace.
“There’s the calligraphy office, the Office of the First Lady, the Office of the Social Secretary for the White House, and then numerous other historic sites as you make your way into the main mansion,” Shogan said.
One of the amenities that Presidents have loved for decades was also housed in the East Wing, the White House Family Theater, which also served another purpose.
“Even in modern days it turned into a coat room,” said Shogan. “There was simply no other place to store such a high volume of coats when people come for a state dinner or another formal event at the White House.”
It was not until 1977 that the East Wing became the home for the first lady’s office thanks to Rosalynn Carter.
Shogan believes the purpose that the East Wing serves is why so many Americans were upset by the images and videos last week.
“Americans really love their first ladies,” said Shogan. “They may, may or may not like the president, but first ladies are usually given different status in American cultural memory.”
Shogan told WTOP she heard the White House Historical Association did preserve photography of the East Wing before it was demolished and was there to assist with preservation of the portraits and other historic items.
“There’s a lot of things that are owned by the White House, that are not on display,” Shogan said. “So, they have excellent storage for preservation and conservation purposes.”
Shogan served as archivist until President Donald Trump dismissed her this past February, and she is now the president and CEO of in Pursuit.
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