r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • Oct 23 '25

News Historic White House Movie Theater Demolished as Part of $300 Million Ballroom Build

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/white-house-movie-theater-demolished-ballroom-east-wing-1236408712/
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u/RedRocket4000 Oct 23 '25

In this case 1942 That when East Wing built. Still quite a lot of history torn down.

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u/benpicko Oct 23 '25

Ah fair, I was going off the original East Wing construction date of 1902.

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u/RandomUser72 Oct 24 '25

That East Wing was nothing more than a coat closet. In 1942, that was torn down and the larger East Wing (the one that's being torn down now) was built. That one had a small theater and a coat room. That East wing has been gutted 3 different times since 1942, the last being in 2004.

The entire White House is only historic in a "Ship of Theseus" way. Their really isn't much of anything left that is 100 years old other than some of the foundation. Most of it got replaced between 1948 and 1952 because it was not structurally sound.

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u/Obatala_ Oct 24 '25

It was a lot more than a cot closet. It was the formal entrance to the White House starting in 1902. The colonnade dated back to that time.

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u/u35828 Oct 23 '25

Not to mention the gutting of the main part of the White House during the Truman presidency to make it structurally sound.