East Wing (Demolished) (Washington, D.C.)

 office building, ballroom, fallout shelter, under construction

The East Wing of the White House housed the social secretary, the calligrapher's office, and offices of the First Lady's staff. Once the site of greenhouses and terrace structures, the East Wing was constructed in 1902 and expanded to two stories in 1942, during World War II, in part to conceal excavations for the hardened air raid shelter and alternate command center called PEOC (Presidential Emergency Operations Center) which is deeply buried underneath here. As a crisis Continuity of Government (COG) site, the bunker hosted the vice president and key command staff during the September Eleventh attacks while the president stayed at the Offutt Air Force Base's COG facility.

As of October 2025, the East Wing has been completely demolished for the construction of a new White House ballroom. The project includes a 90,000-square-foot expansion, replacing the East Wing with a new structure, designed to house a 22,000-square-foot ballroom, commercial kitchen, and new first lady offices.

www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/10/white-house-ballroo...