The history of the White House is a history of change

A brief history of the White House.

1790 a compromise brokered by Madison ,Jefferson ,and Hamilton established swamp lands of the Potomac River as the national capital.

1792 George Washington designs and oversaw the building of the White House
1800 John and Abigail Adams became the 1st First Family to occupy the home.
1814 the Brits burn it to the ground .

The house was rebuilt in 1817 and got it's first coat of white paint.

Since then many Presidents have left their mark on the building with both interior and exterior renovations . Some examples.

North and South Porticos were added in the 1820s
Running water, plumbing, and electricity were installed in the latter half of the 19th century.

Teddy Roosevelt did many interior improvements because he hated the Victorian
style 1902 he had the whole West Wing added for office space. 1903 William Howard Taft
added the Oval Office.

1927 Calvin Coolidge added the 3rd story .

1933 FDR built an indoor swimming pool that was used by him and later Truman
( and infamously by JFK and LBJ )

1942 during WWII ;FDR built an underground bomb shelter .
To conceal it and to add office space ;he had the East Wing built.

!948-1952 By now all the renovations were affecting the integrity of the structure.
Harry Truman moved into the Blair House across the street and oversaw renovations
that included the complete gutting of the interior; leaving only the exterior stone
walls. He added steel supports and sub basement levels .



1961 Jacqueline Kennedy undertook a massive renovation of the interior .
She decided that it needed the look of a museum.
After completion she gave a televised tour of her handiwork.

From the archives: Jacqueline Kennedy gives first televised tour of the White House

Richard Nixon did not like swimming in fresh water pools(he only swam in the ocean)
. So he had flooring installed over the pool and turned it into a press briefing room.
He liked bowling so he installed a one lane alley in the basement.

Gerald Ford liked swimming but did not want to disturb the press room.
So he had a new pool installed on the South Grounds of the White House.

Jimmy Carter added solar panels to the roof which were later taken down by Reagan.
He turned the East Wing over to First Lady Roselyn Carter .

I'm sure there is more I missed like the emperor adding a basketball court
taking space from a tennis court that Teddy Roosevelt built and was added onto by
GW Bush; (Melania Trump added a pavilion ) but the point is that the only part of
the White House that comes close to being "historic" is the original structure ;
and even thathas had multiple changes over the years .

Anything Trump does is some kind of desecration apparently .
I'd be the first to admit that his paving over the Rose Garden was tacky IMO .
But he defended the move by citing poor drainage ; better to
maintain high foot traffic ,and women in high heels
during more formal events . This was the 2nd time he changed the Rose Garden
In his 1st term Melania Trump added pavers for walking which in my view was
more appropriate . Bubba refurbished and renovated the Executive mansion
He is using the prerogative that a number of Presidents have used in the past
to put his imprint on the compound .

Like many of the changes in the past ;the addition of a Ball Room is being funded
by private donation ;including his own money.
It can be argued that a large Ball Room is not needed. There is no argument
that he has the right to make the change.

But let's just explore the need.

One of the emperor's complaints was that there was not adequate indoor space to
host a large event . He was concerned about the logistics of having to set up a
large outdoor tent to host larger events. The East Room where previous indoor events
happened can seat a maximum of 200 people . Besides a tent ;the option was to
move an event to another location with all the security issues involved . Maybe it is
too large (expected up to 1,000 guests )
It is said that it may take demolition of the entire East Wing to build it .

It is said that this is being done without proper oversight . Oversight by whom ?
There are many advisory boards and commissions that oversee White House projects
But the bottom line ;right or wrong; is that the President has the final say .

My only question is funding given that often "private donations " have quid pro quo's attached .
I would like to see a list of donors and the amount of $ they are donating.
Beyond that why in the world should I care if an addition to the White House
that was done in 1942 gets altered or even demolished to make changes ?
This is a silly controversy that distracts from the real issues of the nation
(like the US debt topping $38 trillion yesterday )

Give it time. Monstrosities of the present become priceless treasures of the future.

The artists who protested the Eiffel Tower - Eiffel Tower

I demand that all the people complaining about the WH Ball room vow to never set foot in it . But I guarantee the next Democrat President will freely entertain there.