Work on the much touted Trump Ball Room has not yet begun. All current work is demolition of the east wing of the White House and site preparation for future construction. According to chatGPT approvals and permits are required before any construction can begin. Any current work is on the demolition site, not the Ball-Room.
Even the design is still speculative according to the NYT. Trump and the architect cannot agree on the floor size. So, any current effort is just Trump home improvement. Couple that with the fact that Trumps’ Ball-Room fantasy is completely without support: no long term management organization; no long term plan; no defined maintenance funding; no business model (it’s private self supporting); no defined market. The project is unlikely to ever be seriously undertaken, and if it is, demolition will likely begin in advance of completion.
The elephant in the room is that we are likely to lose the White House. The Ball Room thing may be a ruse to test the waters for demolition of the White House. Trump has already demonstrated that demolition of the property is under his control. So, at his discretion, he can demolish and rebuild the official residence in a form that fits his fantasies.
Does anyone believe Ball Room construction will actually begin? Will it be completed? Is the White House safe from Trump? Related issues regarding both.
I view what Trump has done to the White House as pure allegory for what he has done to the country. He’s ruined it. We’ll have to rebuild from the ground up to fix it – if we ever do.
I find myself worried that there will be some incident involving a backhoe “accidentally” hitting a wall attached to the main complex resulting in an immediate decision to tear the rest of it down for “safety”. I think the main thing that would prevent this is the fact that a building such as the White House cannot be built quickly so Trump would be gone long before they could finish. Then again, he might not care. I vaguely recall hearing that he’s not a fan of the White House and thinks it is a dump.
I thought the plan was for a ballroom to seat 999 people but the article mentions that he was then thinking of one that could seat 1,350 people, or “several thousand people” or the entire crowd for an inauguration.
I suspect it’s a case of the architect explaining that what Trump wants is physically (or legally) not possible, with Trump countering “Make it work.” Repeat ad infinitum.
My understanding is that the Commission of Fine Arts is supposed to have authority but Trump fired all of the members of that group along with the members of the National Capital Planning Commission, who also have oversight authority.
It’s strange that permits and approvals weren’t required to tear the fucking thing down in the first place. Blam! It’s gone.
That came on the heels of Trump promising that it wouldn’t be touched.
I’m beginning to question the honor of the man and his enablers.
A group of architects wrote a letter to James McCrery, the architect, to ask him about whether he followed the AIA (American Institute of Architects) code of ethics, including by obtaining permits, hazardous materials abatement, and other issues. The NYT article said that the architect stepped back and is less involved.
In this third world shit-hole country (as Trump likes to refer to us) I had to go through a rigorous examination and on-site inspection just to add a very small extension to my Victorian era house.
It was long and expensive, to say nothing of the specialized architects fees.
Trump just brings in the wrecking ball and bulldozers. I wonder if he even has an architect?
I’m guessing not many people will share my feelings on this…
Of all the things Trump has done, this is so far down the list that it can’t be seen from altitude. But that being said… I just don’t care. It’s a building, nothing more. Of historic importance, yes. But it’s been renovated before.
Going a bit deeper, I really dislike pomp and circumstance and the performative aspect of high office. People talk about respecting the office if not the person. To me, that would properly mean acknowledging the importance of the office. But respecting it in the sense of having some kind of reverence for it? That’s a big no for me.
I think that kind of thing is what enables a mediocrity like Trump to appear “presidential”. In another universe, being the president brings no prestige in and of itself. It’s more like, “Great, now let’s see what you can do.” You get the support and expert help a leader needs, but you don’t get a fancy mansion, you don’t get a “great seal” on your correspondence and you don’t give fancy state dinners.
My idea of a great president: a dumpy, boring policy wonk. If that person does good things, they can turn the White House into a replica of Action Park for all I care.