Donald Trump Is Not the First President to Spend Time Remodeling the White House

President Trump's decision to tear down the entire East Wing of the White House to build a ballroom has been met with controversy, which has naturally led many to wonder which other presidents left their mark on the building. Remodeling the White House is not unprecedented, although Trump has done more than most presidents have to change the structure, and with no formal approval from Congress.

While it remains to be seen exactly how much of the building will exist after Trump's construction is done, we can safely say that it will be a different building when he's done. Here's what we know about which other presidents left their mark on the building.

The cornerstone for the White House was laid in 1791, and John Adams was the first president to live there, even though construction wasn't quite complete. It was originally referred to as the President's House or the Executive Mansion, but the White House became its formal name in 1901, per the White House Historical Association. The first major remodel to the building was not elective, though.

After the White House burned down during the War of 1812, President James Monroe tasked James Hoban, the building's original architect, with restoring it. Although much of the building was built back unchanged, Hoban designed two porticoes for the north and south faces of the building that have allowed it to take on its signature look.

We then have to move forward almost 100 years to 1902, when President Theodore Roosevelt had the building renovated to create the West Wing, per the WHHA.

The West Wing, a separate building accessible by a colonnade-flanked walkway, became home to the offices of the president's staff and separated the governmental part of the building from the residence, which was also remodeled to accommodate Roosevelt's large family. In 1909, President William Howard Taft commissioned the creation of the Oval Office as part of the West Wing.

In 1927, President Calvin Coolidge commissioned more work on the White House after receiving reports that the building's roof was in danger of collapse, largely thanks to an attic that was stuffed with historical documents. The building got a new attic and a third floor, which was used to house servants and secretaries. A fire tore through the West Wing just two years later, necessitating a rebuilding of both the attic and the third floor.

The East Wing was built in 1942 and was built to hide a bunker underneath it, which President Franklin Delano Roosevelt would take shelter in in the event of a bomber raid.

President Harry Truman was the last man to make major updates to the building, and although not much about the exterior changed at that time, almost all of the interior was gutted and built up again from scratch.

This renovation included updates to the building's infrastructure, as well as the building of six new rooms and two new sub-basements. Presidents in the years since have made minor changes to the building, but Truman was the last to undertake major renovations.