White House Demolition: Historical Association Explains East Wing Preservation

Video Description

Stewart McLaurin, the president of the White House Historical Association, says that the interior items of the White House East Wing have been preserved. “It's the curator who's responsible for caring for those objects. And she and her team very carefully removed all of the objects from the East Wing, the art, the historical furnishings. And that all is very carefully taken care of and stored in curatorial storage,” McLaurin said. The White House East Wing was demolished last week to make way for President Donald Trump’s vision of a ballroom on the premises. The East Wing was a home for the first lady’s offices and the social team of the White House. McLaurin said there are many important moments in White House history and the removal of the East Wing for the incoming ballroom is just one of them. “We as the Whitehouse Historical Association are there really for the American people to have a front row seat on history. Ours is not to make happen or to keep from happening, but to document what does happen. What happens in this great home that we call the White House, and those who live there and work there and have done so for the past 225 years,” McLaurin said.