Snapshots of life at the White House East Wing

President Trump has faced backlash for his $300 million ballroom plans. But the White House East Wing has undergone several changes since it was added to the presidential complex as the East Terrace soon after President Theodore Roosevelt took office in 1902.The big picture: President Franklin D. Roosevelt significantly rebuilt and expanded the East Wing in 1942, which the White House Historical Association notes "was highly controversial due to its timing during wartime." It's since served as office space for the first lady and her staff. A fountain outside the East Wing of the White House, then known as the East Terrace, after it was built in 1902. Photo: Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images An honor guard by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's casket in the White House's East Room in 1945. The East Wing was a legacy of Roosevelt, but the historical association notes that congressional Republicans accused him of using the construction project "to bolster his presidency's image." Photo: Abbie Rowe/PhotoQuest/Getty Images Empress Farah, wife of the Shah of Iran, and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy during a tour of the White House grounds, near the East Colonnade, in 1962. Photo: Via Getty Images Lady Bird Johnson dedicating the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden at the White House. "Sometimes referred to as the East Garden or First Lady's Garden, a garden has been in this location since 1903 when First Lady Edith Roosevelt created a colonial-style garden here," per the National Park Service. Photo: Bettmann/Corbis/Getty Images News correspondent Dan Rather speaks with President Richard Nixon during a press conference in the East Wing of the White House. Photo: Via Getty Images Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Clinton hold a joint press conference in the East Wing of the White House in 1997. Photo: Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images First lady Laura Bush takes soon-to-be first lady Michelle Obama for a private tour of the artwork in the East Wing of the White House ahead of Barack Obama being sworn in as president in 2009. Photo: Charles Ommanney/Getty Images First lady Melania Trump walks through Christmas decorations in the East Wing as she tours holiday decorations at the White House in 2017. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images First lady Jill Biden leads a tour with second graders at the White House in 2022. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images People watch as work crews demolish the facade of the East Wing of the White House on Oct. 20, 2025. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesGo deeper: Trump: "We had to take down the existing" White House East Wing structure

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Snapshots of life at the White House East Wing

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