Bowling alleys, movie theaters, and a $200 million ballroom: What first families have added to the White House throughout history

The Obamas in the White House's movie theater, originally built by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942.Pete Souza/White HouseThe White House has announced plans to build a $200 million ballroom in its East Wing.Barack Obama adapted the White House's tennis court for full-court basketball. The White House Bowling Alley was built in 1947 as a birthday present for Harry Truman.President Donald Trump is adding a $200 million ballroom to the White House.On Thursday, the White House announced that construction of the 90,000-square-foot state ballroom would begin in the East Wing in September.Presidents adding amenities to the White House is nothing new. Throughout US history, first families have made the space their own with additions and renovations based on their interests, from bowling alleys to basketball courts.Here are the additions that presidents, first ladies, and their families have made to the White House through the years.President James Buchanan's niece Harriet Lane, who acted as first lady, had a greenhouse built on the roof of the west terrace in 1857.The White House conservatory.Library of CongressBuchanan's niece, Harriet Lane, acted as White House hostess and first lady during the lifelong bachelor's presidency. The greenhouse burned down in 1867 and was replaced with a larger one made of iron and wood, according to the White House Historical Association.Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Rutherford B. Hayes continued adding conservatories throughout the 1870s and 1880s.Interior of the White House greenhouse, Washington DC, USA, 1908. Illustration from The Story of the White House, by Esther Singleton, Volume II, (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1908).The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty ImagesThe White House conservatories included rose houses, a camellia house, orchid houses, and a palm court for tropical plants.President Theodore Roosevelt removed the conservatories in 1902 to make room for the West Wing and built a small greenhouse that is now the site of the Smithsonian American History Museum.President Theodore Roosevelt added tennis courts behind the West Wing, and William Howard Taft moved them further south in 1910.Pres. Harding watching tennis players on White House courts in 1923Library of CongressThe tennis court eventually became the site of the White House's outdoor swimming pool, and a different tennis court was built. President George H.W. Bush expanded the tennis court in 1989, and Melania Trump refurbished it in 2020.First lady Ellen Wilson, wife of President Woodrow Wilson, established the Rose Garden in 1913.Photo shows the rose garden designed by George E. Burnap, planted 1914, on the south side of the White House, on the site of the former West Colonial gardenHarris & Ewing/Library of CongressThe Rose Garden was designed by George E. Burnap and Beatrix Farrand as a formal flower garden before the space was used for events and press conferences. The garden was organized in rows with a lawn in the center.The Solarium, or Sun Room, dates back to President William Howard Taft's presidency, but was officially built on the third floor in 1927 when President Calvin Coolidge held office.WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 15: (NO U.S. TABLOID SALES) U.S. President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan relax in the 3rd Floor Solarium at the White House October 15, 1981 in Washington, DC.David Hume Kennerly/Getty ImagesTaft originally built a "sleeping porch" while in office as a place to cool off in the summertime. When the third floor of the White House was expanded in 1927, Grace Coolidge dubbed the cozy, sunny room the "Sky Parlor," according to the White House Historical Association. It was remodeled again in 1952 under President Harry Truman, who added a kitchenette.Many presidents and their families have used the solarium recreationally — President Dwight Eisenhower enjoyed grilling on the Promenade outside, and President Lyndon Johnson's teenage daughters Luci and Lynda used it as a hangout.The White House's indoor swimming pool was built in 1933 for President Franklin D. Roosevelt's physical therapy exercises.The White House swimming pool used by Franklin D. Roosevelt. 1940Bettmann/Contributor/Getty ImagesThe pool, built between the White House and the West Wing in the west terrace, was covered up when the press briefing room was built in 1970 during President Richard Nixon's tenure.FDR also oversaw the conversion of a cloakroom into a movie theater in 1942.First Lady Mamie Eisenhower (C) in White House movie theater w. grandchildren (L-R) Barbara Anne, Mary Jean, Susie & DavidEd Clark/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty ImagesThe theater's decor has changed over the years — it went from green chairs and mustard curtains to white chairs and floral drapes, and then to its current all-red design.The White House Bowling Alley was built as a birthday present for President Harry Truman in 1947.1947 President Truman today presented championship awards to three paralyzed bowling champions from veterans administration hospitals at a White House ceremony. The champs are the three top winners of the national 10-pin bowling tournament that VA conducted in six of its paraplegic centers where paralyzed vets receive special treatment. Left to right: Gordon C. Scott of Crossville, Ala., patient at Memphis, Tenn., VA hospital; Leo Ladduceur of Detroit, Mich., and Gerald A. Kopp of Spokane, Wash., both patients at the Van Nuys, Calif., hospital, and President Truman.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty ImagesThe bowling alley was originally built on the ground floor of the West Wing, which is now the Situation Room. It moved to the Executive Office Building in 1955. The Nixons then had a one-lane bowling alley built under the North Portico in 1969.President Dwight Eisenhower had a putting green installed in 1954.Pres. Bush holding iron and thinking on his new putting green outside the WH.David Valdez/White House/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty ImagesIn 1995, President Bill Clinton had the putting green moved outside the Oval Office, where it remains today.President Gerald Ford had an outdoor swimming pool built in 1975.Washington, UNITED STATES: (FILES) This file picture shows late US Presidents Gerald Ford preparing to take a swim at the new swimming pool of the White House, 10 July 1975 in Washington. Ford, who sought to heal America after the trauma of the Watergate scandal that forced Richard Nixon from office in 1974, died 26 December 2006, his wife said. He was 93. Ford lost the 1976 election campaign to Jimmy Carter, a defeat that historians have attributed to his decision to pardon Nixon for his crimes barely a month after taking office.STR/AFP via Getty ImagesFord also added a cabana with changing areas and showers, as well as a tunnel from the cabana to the West Wing ground floor so that he could move between the two without going outside.President Richard Nixon transformed a bedroom into the White House Game Room in 1970.Library of CongressThe game room, outfitted with pool and ping-pong tables, is located on the third floor of the White House.Pool tables at the White House date back to John Quincy Adams, and many presidents have made use of them through the years. Abraham Lincoln described himself as a "billiards addict," Eisenhower added four pool tables to Camp David, and Reagan was known for being a talented player.A half-basketball court on the South Lawn was installed by President George H.W. Bush in 1991.WASHINGTON - MARCH 6: (AFP OUT) An existing half basketball court on the South Lawn of the White House near the Oval Office is seen March 6, 2009 in Washington, DC.Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty ImagesThe court is mostly used by presidents, their staff, and families.President Bill Clinton's jogging habit spurred the creation of a track in 1993.WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 27: US President Bill Clinton (L) and Korean President Kim Young-Sam jog around the White House track in Washington 28 July. President Kim joined President Clinton in the dedication of the Korean War Memorial on the Mall in Washington 26 July. AFP PHOTOJ. DAVID AKE/AFP via Getty ImagesClinton used to jog around Washington, DC, but his heavy Secret Service protection disrupted traffic. A quarter-mile track along the South Lawn was built for him to use instead, at a cost of $30,000 — although, sometimes he still opted to run along the National Mall, according to reports at the time.First lady Hillary Clinton gifted her husband the White House Music Room for his birthday in 1996.President Clinton practices with his saxophone in the newly decorated Music Room in the Residence 1996Clinton Digital LibraryThe Music Room provided a soundproof space on the third floor where Clinton could practice his saxophone and display music-related memorabilia. It had previously been a sitting room, John Kennedy Jr.'s preschool room, and Jack Ford's bedroom.President Barack Obama had the White House tennis court adapted for full-court basketball with painted lines and removable hoops.WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 09: U.S. President Barack Obama (R) shoots a basketball as members of the Harlem Globetrotters look on during the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House tennis court April 9, 2012 in Washington, DC. Thousands of people are expected to attend the 134-year-old tradition of rolling colored eggs down the White House lawn that was started by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878.Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesObama often played basketball with members of his staff. He and his body man, Reggie Love, even helped coach his daughter Sasha's fourth-grade basketball team, the Vipers. President Joe Biden's granddaughter, Maisy, was also a member of the team."When the Vipers won the league championships in an 18-16 nail-biter, Reggie and I celebrated like it was the NCAA finals," Obama wrote in his memoir, "A Promised Land."In 2009, Michelle Obama planted the White House Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn as part of her initiative to encourage healthy living.US First lady Michelle Obama hosts a fall harvest of the White House vegetable garden with help of students from Washington's Bancroft and Kimball Elementary schools on October 29, 2009 in Washington, DC.TIM SLOAN/AFP via Getty ImagesThe 2,800-square-foot garden grows a variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs, and provides around 2,000 pounds of food for the White House each year, according to the National Park Service. First lady Melania Trump has continued tending to the vegetable garden and inviting local schoolchildren to help harvest its food.First lady Melania Trump oversaw the construction of a new Tennis Pavilion during President Donald Trump's first term in 2020.Andrea Hanks/Official White House PhotoThe tennis pavilion's design was inspired by the East and West Wings of the White House, with a colonnade, parapet wall, and fanlight windows."I am pleased to announce the completion of the Tennis Pavilion on the White House grounds. Thank you to all of the talented craftsmen who made this project possible and to the generous supporters of the White House," Melania Trump said in a statement released by the White House. "It is my hope that this private space will function as both a place of leisure and gathering for future First Families."In his second term, Trump has begun transforming the White House Rose Garden into a patio.WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 23: Work continues in paving over the White House Rose Garden lawn on July 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump today signed executive orders related to his AI "Action Plan" intended to promote U.S. dominance of the technology.Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesIn March, Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that the lawn in the Rose Garden "just doesn't work" for large events because the grass gets wet and women's high heels sink into the ground. In June, workers began installing concrete and stone tile over the lawn to turn it into a patio.Trump also plans to build a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot state ballroom in the East Wing.WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 31: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on July 31, 2025 in Washington, DC. Leavitt holds a rendering of a ballroom building that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to build on the White House grounds as she spoke to reporters about the day's news topics.Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesIn a statement on July 31, the White House cited the need for additional seating for formal events as the primary motivation for the renovation. The East Room, the biggest event space in the White House, has a 200-person capacity, requiring larger functions to be held in an outdoor tent. Trump's new state ballroom will be able to seat 650 people, the statement said.The statement also said that Trump and other "patriot donors" would provide the necessary $200 million for the project."Presidents in the modern era have faced challenges hosting major events at the White House because it has been untouched since President Harry Truman," McCrery Architects CEO Jim McCrery said, per the White House's statement. "I am honored that President Trump has entrusted me to help bring this beautiful and necessary renovation to The People's House, while preserving the elegance of its classical design and historical importance."When asked if any parts of the East Wing would be torn down to build the ballroom, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that "the necessary construction will take place" as the East Wing is "modernized."Read the original article on Business Insider

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