Post #74294 by g0177325 on the US Policy board

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This is even more infuriating than demolishing the East Wing, and the now green lit monstrous Ballroom abomination. Trump wants to change the design of the columns of the WH proper.

The WH is not supposed to look like a bordello. It's supposed to be tasteful and understated.

For nearly two centuries, the White House’s main entrance — framed by a row of graceful Ionic columns — has been a signature image of the seat of American power.

Now the Trump-appointed head of a federal arts commission is proposing to replace them with a more ornate style favored by President Donald Trump. Those more decorative columns, a style known as Corinthian, are considered the most luxurious in classical architecture and appear on buildings such as the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court. They have long been deployed on Trump’s properties, and the president has handpicked them for his planned White House ballroom, too.
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“The Corinthian would be inappropriate for the Executive Residence,” said Steven Semes, a professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Notre Dame and an expert in classical architecture, warning that it would “harm” the original design of a building long known as the “People’s House.”

He added that the White House’s Ionic columns evoke “the character of dignity, grace and a kind of intimacy or domesticity,” whereas Corinthian columns are “used to express the height of formality and monumentality” for buildings such as the Capitol.

Several former federal arts commissioners expressed similar concerns, adding that any changes to the executive mansion should go through a formal review process.

“It is a completely inappropriate idea and at odds with universally held historic preservation standards,” said Bruce Redman Becker, an architect and Biden appointee to the Commission of Fine Arts who was removed by Trump last year.

James Hoban, the White House’s original architect, designed the North Portico and its current columns — his final touch on the building, completed in 1830. The White House Historical Association, a nonprofit that focuses on educating the public about the residence’s history, has called the columns “iconic” and a key part of Hoban’s vision.

“Few elements have so inspired American architecture,” Stewart McLaurin, the White House Historical Association’s president, wrote about the North Portico in a 2021 biography of Hoban.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/appointee-...

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