Veterans from both the Republican and Democratic parties, who have served under various first ladies, expressed their shock and dismay as President Donald Trump’s teams began dismantling the East Wing this week.
The demolition commenced on Monday, with excavators breaking down the structure that has stood for 83 years, serving as the workplace for first ladies and their staff since Eleanor Roosevelt’s tenure.
Penny Adams, who once coordinated radio and TV for Pat Nixon, disclosed that she made a desperate appeal to halt what she described as a ‘dreadful endeavor’ to the authorities.
The Trump administration has dismissed the uproar, arguing that numerous presidents have undertaken substantial renovation projects, and emphasizing a need for a new ballroom to accommodate large gatherings.
However, for those who once worked in the East Wing, watching the destruction was an emotional ordeal that left many in tears.
“I literally cried when I saw my old office window,” Adams shared with East Wing Magazine, reflecting on the scene of debris and smashed windows. “That was my office from 1969 to 1973.”
Anita McBride, who served as chief of staff to former First Lady Laura Bush, told the Daily Mail in an email that even though she supports the addition of a White House ballroom, the images were hard to digest.
‘I saw over the years the need for a larger space and not the big tents on the lawn some administrations used,’ McBride said. ‘But watching the East Wing come down to make way for it is hard.’
A photograph from Tuesday shows the East Wing of the White House being quickly torn down to make way for President Donald Trump’s $250 million ballroom. Alumni from the Nixon administration had tried to stop this ‘devastation’ before demolition started on Monday
First Lady Pat Nixon, wife of American President Richard Nixon, wearing a red dress and sitting on a cabinet, circa 1970s
Nixon’s former staff had tried to get in contact with the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), an government agency that provides planning guidance in D.C.
‘In our small, little way, some of us from Mrs. Nixon’s staff have been trying to push back on this devastation,’ Adams told East Wing Magazine in an email.
Adams said that Debby Sloan, who had served as an assistant to Nixon’s social secretary, wrote a letter to the NCPC about the importance of keeping the East Wing intact.
The East Wing building that was bulldozed this week dated back to 1942 – with President Franklin Delano adding a second story to provide offices for First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her staff.
Adams was joined by Susan Dolibois, another assistant to Pat Nixon’s social secretary, in the effort.
The original East Wing dated back to Republican President Teddy Roosevelt’s administration and was only one-story.
The FDR-era build was also used to hide a World War II-era White House bunker.
The Nixon East Wing staffers’ pleas were ignored, as Trump had already appointed a key ally, Staff Secretary Will Scharf, to lead the NCPC.
Former staffers of Republican First Lady Pat Nixon (right), photographed with former President Richard Nixon (left) in 1974 wrote to the National Capital Planning Commission trying to halt ‘this horrible project’ that has left their former offices demolished
The original East Wing was a one-story addition built during the tenure of Republican President Teddy Roosevelt. Here it’s pictured in 1906
The current version was built in 1942 during the administration of Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, with a second floor to be used for the offices of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. FDR is photographed laying the cornerstone of what had been the East Wing until it was demolished this week
First Lady Rosalynn Carter with her personal assistant, Madeline McBean, in 1977 in the White House East Wing office
East Wing Staff Director and Press Secretary Constance Cornell Stuart assisting First Lady Pat Nixon at her desk on the Second Floor of the White House on December 30, 1970
Traditionally, projects of this scale would have gone through a tedious review process and taken historic preservation into mind.
But Scharf argued that NCPC doesn’t monitor demolitions.
The NCPC is also currently closed due to the government shutdown.
The White House has also forcefully pushed back at the outcry, sending out a press release Tuesday to reporters blasting ‘unhinged leftists and their Fake News allies’ for creating ‘manufactured outrage’ over the East Wing’s demolition.
The press release included historical photographs showing previous demolitions and construction projects at the White House dating back to 1902.
The response didn’t factor in that some Republicans had been against the project, too – and the administration had been cagey about how much of the East Wing would be impacted.
Joni Stevens, who worked for both Pat Nixon and Former First Lady Betty Ford, also a Republican, told East Wing Magazine that another piece of history might be discarded.
Construction equipment made quick work of the East Wing, with this photograph taken late Monday afternoon, by Tuesday just three of the East Wing’s walls remained
First Lady Michelle Obama participates in a Twitter chat to discuss school nutrition and the White House Kitchen Garden, in the First Lady’s Office in the East Wing of the White House, June 12, 2014
‘We put a time capsule on the right side of the window facing the south grounds,’ she revealed.
The tents that McBride referenced were first used by First Lady Michelle Obama to host state dinners when the crowd count was larger than the East Room, which is part of the main White House residence, could hold.
Trump so disliked the tents that he called up Obama adviser David Axelrod in 2010 and suggested building a ballroom.
Axelrod ignored Trump, and has since said he doesn’t remember Trump offering to pay for the project.
‘I heard from East Wing alumni from multiple administrations who are understandably stunned by the images,’ McBride added. ‘First ladies’ staff lived and witnessed history within those walls. Nothing takes away the memories of working in that extraordinarily special place of purpose.’
She then quoted Betty Ford: ‘If the West Wing is the mind of the nation, then the East Wing is the Heart.’
