Lately, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has been looking a bit lopsided. Like an airplane missing a wing, or a broken tooth in a perfect smile, the building maintains an awkward stance after President Trump tore the East Wing down between October 23 and 25, 2025 to make way for the construction of a ballroom. In the immediate weeks following the razing, public outcry denouncing the demolition has swelled, leaving other Americans asking the question, “what history has been lost here?”

The Evolving East Wing

The East Wing as a concept came from the Jefferson presidency of 1801-1809, when a covered colonnade connecting the main house to external service buildings was erected. This was torn down after the Civil War, and a large greenhouse complex was constructed in its place. President Theodore Roosevelt completely restored the White House in 1902, and a reiteration of the Jefferson colonnade was built as a visitor entrance featuring a terraced roof.

In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt expanded the 1902 terrace to protect a new bunker and add office space. Construction of the “East Wing” during WWII was highly criticized. Many Americans believed the money should’ve gone to the war effort and accused him of attempting to leverage his public image.

The First Lady’s Domain

On Valentine’s Day in 1962, Americans tuned their TV sets to CBS and watched First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy walk down the East Wing’s colonnade while reverent music played. This was the opening segment of a tour that she was about to give of the Peoples’ House, to the people, on live television. For many, it was the first time they’d ever seen the inside of the White House. The East Wing was still the house’s guest entrance since the 1902 terrace and was where first ladies would host official guests.

When first Lady Rosalynn Carter made the East Wing her official office space in the 1970s, it set a new precedent that all future first ladies would have their own place to conduct business. Before that time, the wives of presidents were relegated to working from the family quarters on the main house’s second floor. Along with the first lady’s office came new offices for her staff, press spaces, and rooms dedicated to the state projects a first lady would work on during her tenure. Mrs. Kennedy was the first to use the East Wing for this purpose by housing the headquarters for her restoration of the White House there. The East Wing also featured recreational facilities for the first family, such as a movie theater. 

With the East Wing now gone, the first lady has lost an official place to conduct business; her offices are simply scattered around various rooms once more. The White House has stated that they will be replaced, though the intended location has not yet been made public. For some, President Trump’s ballroom expansion is just the latest iteration of the changes and evolutions done to the building’s eastern side over the centuries. For others, the loss of the East Wing as it was known is a point of contention, and a loss of history that can never be brought back.