As demolition of the historic East Wing of the White House began earlier this week to make way for President Donald Trump’s new ballroom, the National Trust for Historic Preservation asked the Trump administration to pause construction until building plans could be reviewed.
On Tuesday, the National Trust for Historic Preservation sent a letter to the National Capital Planning Commission, the National Park Service and the Commission on Fine Arts expressing concerns about the size of the ballroom.
The letter reads: “While the National Trust recognizes the practicality of a larger conference space at the White House, we are deeply concerned that the massing and height of the proposed new building will overwhelm the White House itself (at 55,000 sq ft) and may also permanently undermine the carefully balanced, classic design of the White House and its two smaller and lower East and West Wings.”
Although the National Trust for Historic Preservation is a nonprofit organization chartered by Congress to oversee historic preservation policy in the United States, it does not have any legal authority to block construction.
The letter goes on to highlight guidelines set by the Home Office’s restoration standards, stressing that “new extensions should not damage the historic fabric of the building and new works should be compatible with the existing massing, scale, scale and architectural character.”
As a “national historic landmark, national park and globally recognized symbol of our nation’s ideals,” the letter continued, “we respectfully urge the Administration and the National Park Service to suspend demolition until plans for the proposed ballroom pass the public review process required by law, including consultation and review by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission on Fine Arts, and solicit public comment.”
The Society of Architectural Historians cited similar concerns in a statement last week, as did the American Institute of Architects in a letter in August, both about the size of the ballroom and the overall impact on the White House. Neither has statutory duties as a ballroom supervisor.
The National Park Service maintains the White House grounds and in 2014 outlined in a 56-page document its intention to work with the presidential administration, the Secret Service and other government agencies “to ensure the preservation and use of one of the world’s most recognized homes.”
art news The National Park Service was previously contacted for comment, but the agency has not yet responded.
The massive renovations come ahead of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States and the second-longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which also occurred during Trump’s first presidential term, continues.
Alyssa Farrah Griffin, a former aide to Donald Trump during his first term, compared the new building to the French Revolution in a TV show landscape“felt like Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France,” who was known for her lavish lifestyle and indifference to the poor at the expense of the French public, which ultimately led to her undoing.
“Almost every president who has lived in this beautiful White House after me has modernized and renovated it,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. fox news Plans for Wednesday. “Presidents throughout the modern era have quipped that they would like a larger event space in the White House than the current East Room and State Dining Room, which can accommodate hundreds of people.”
The official White House website has a “fact sheet” on the building’s renovations and additions over the past century. It’s worth noting, however, that this statement targets “the unhinged leftists and their fake news allies who are holding out hope for President Donald J. Trump’s visionary idea of adding a massive, privately funded ballroom to the White House.” The statement called the addition a “proud presidential legacy.”
cbs news According to the report, one White House official said that construction plans for the new ballroom will be presented to the National Capital Planning Commission “in due course,” while another official said that “the scope and scale of the project will always change as the process develops.”
