Drapes added to White House columns as workers do renovation work
Another White House renovation project is ramping up as President Donald Trump extends his makeover of the presidential residence to the columns outside the main entrance.
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s show workers hung a tarp on Thursday to cover extensive scaffolding around the iconic North Portico columns. The tarp is printed with an image of the columns, which were built in 1830.
A White House official said the columns are undergoing standard restoration work. Scaffolding began going up around the columns last month as the work got underway.
Workers install a tarp Thursday as they do maintenance on the North Portico of the White House in Washington.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum mentioned the North Portico renovation in the Tuesday episode of The Katie Miller Podcast, saying Trump "comes out to greet a world leader, he sees door dings in the pillars and says 'look at all this stuff that needs to be repaired.'"
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Burgum said "it's all historic renovation work." Plaster is being restored from "the door level all the way up to the crowns of those towers," he said.
The president has taken a keen interest in White House renovations. Trump's push to transform the presidential residence and grounds includes demolishing the East Wing to build a new ballroom, installing a patio in the Rose Garden, revamping the West Wing colonnade, installing 88-foot-tall flag poles, adding gold accents in the Oval Office, renovating the Lincoln Bathroom and building a helipad on the South Lawn.
A worker walks near a tarp with an image of the White House printed on it Thursday as maintenance work is being carried out on the North Portico of the White House in Washington.
The ballroom alone is estimated to cost $600 million, with the White House recently awarding a no-bid contract for its construction.
The White House makeover is part of a broader effort by Trump to reshape the DC landscape and key landmarks. The president plans to build a new triumphal arch near the National Mall and has launched various renovation efforts, including to the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
