- Trump's White House ballroom plans not unique.
- Longest-serving chief usher Gary Walters confirms.
- Served Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush over 20 years.
Even before he entered politics, President Trump had long talked about creating a ballroom in the White House.
The White House revealed in July that a 90,000-square-foot area, estimated to cost $200 million, would be constructed on the east side of the building to house 650 seated visitors. According to President Trump, private donations, including his own, would be used to finance it.
Later, the Republican president increased the planned ballroom's capacity to 999, and by October, he had destroyed the White House's two-story East Wing in order to construct it there. He doubled the first estimate to $400 million in December.
Historians, preservationists, and others were shocked to see images of the East Wing being demolished, but Walters explained that there is a long history of projects on campus, from the addition of the East Wing itself during World War II to provide workspace for the first lady, her staff, and other White House offices to the demolition of conservatories, greenhouses, and stables to build the West Wing in 1902.
“So there's always been construction going on around the White House,”
Walters said.
According to Walters, one of the first things he discussed with the incoming president, first lady, and their social secretary during his tenure was the size of the White House's largest public rooms.
According to Walters, the State Dining Room can accommodate roughly 130 guests when it is set up for a state supper. Each of the 13 round tables has ten seats. About 300 chairs can fit in the East Room; this number may drop if more room is required for TV cameras.
Trump frequently laments how small both rooms are. Additionally, he has expressed dissatisfaction with the usage of enormous tents on the south grounds, which is the primary solution for major events like opulent state banquets for foreign dignitaries. The tents had problems, according to Walters.
Walters said he had happy personal memories of the East Wing and acknowledged that it was a little startling to see it demolished.
“When it rained, the water flows downhill and the grass became soggy, no matter what we tried to do,”
Walters said.
“We dug culverts around the outside of the tent to try and get the water."
Tents damaged the grass, requiring more work to reseed it, he said.
“I met my wife at the White House and she worked in the East Wing, so that was a joy for me,”
said Walters, 79.
During the administrations of Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon, his wife, Barbara, worked as a receptionist at the visitors office. The pair just commemorated their 48th wedding anniversary.
Usher's career path is altered by broken bones
Walters' unfortunate fractured ankle is the reason he is the longest-serving White House chief in history.
Early in 1970, at the age of 23, he was honorably discharged from the Army and seeking employment that would enable him to complete his college education at night. He was hired and accepted by the Executive Protective Service, which was the forerunner of the U.S. Secret Service.
However, Walters suffered an ankle break while playing football just prior to the graduation ceremony.
“This injury also changed the course of my career,”
Walters wrote in his memoir,
“White House Memories: 1970-2007: Recollections of the Longest-Serving Chief Usher.”
He gained an ”in-depth knowledge of the ways and security systems of the White House that would ultimately greatly benefit me in my future role in the Usher's Office."
He found out about a position at the Usher's Office a few months after receiving a promotion to sergeant in 1975. Early in 1976, he applied and started working as an assistant.
Ten years later, Reagan promoted him to chief usher, giving Walters the most important position in the residence, supervising food service, building and remodeling projects, maintenance, and administrative, financial, and personnel tasks. About ninety butlers, housekeepers, cooks, florists, electricians, engineers, plumbers, and other workers were under his supervision.
After 37 years in the White House, including a record 21 years as chief usher, Walters retired in 2007. From Nixon to George W. Bush, he worked for seven different presidents.
Walters witnessed a wide range of presidential events during that period, including the only president to resign, the only president to be impeached and remain in office, a father and son becoming president, and the Supreme Court ruling on the most hotly contested presidential election in American history.
"Without hesitation, I say it is getting to know and interact directly with the president, first lady, and other members of their family,"
he responds when asked what he enjoys most about his job. Getting to know them with my own eyes and ears was an honor, Walters wrote.
How have past presidents used the White House ballroom spaces?
Once chairpersons have acclimated White House spaces for chamber- such as amusing without devoted formal lyceums, counting on multi-purpose apartments amid growing event demands.
Truman( 1945- 1953) hosted large receptions in the East Room( capacity 200 for feasts) and State Dining Room, using temporary canopies on the South Field for overflow state feasts with 100 guests.
Kennedy( 1961- 1963) expanded the East Room for festivals via Jacqueline Kennedy's refurbishments, emphasizing artistic events like the 1962 ingenue ball.
Nixon( 1969- 1974) and Ford( 1974- 1977) added basement installations( bowling alley, press room) for informal gatherings, while Reagan( 1981- 1989) and Clinton( 1993- 2001) constantly erected lavish canopies for 500- 1,000 person events, going $500,000 each, pressing the need for endless capacity addressed in Trump's offer.