He's the real estate guy. He should be able to explain why adding a layer of paint to an unpainted surface is good. Whether this lawsuit can or should succeed is a different matter. I just want to know why he thinks painting is good. I understand he wants the building to be white and not the gray that it is. I don't care one way or the other. I'm just troubled by the painting of surfaces that were designed to be unpainted.
ADDED: Trump shows his pictures to Laura Ingraham who seems quite disgusted. He's really into the intense whiteness of the imagined paint and condemns gray as a color "for funerals":
November 15, 2025
"Painting a historic building’s uncoated masonry can trap moisture, accelerate deterioration and cause it to crack or crumble...."
"That risk of permanent damage has led to preservation standards, including the Interior Department’s, to advise keeping a property’s historic appearance as unchanged as possible and caution against new paint schemes on historic masonry unless they replicate or closely match documented historic finishes, the complaint alleges. Paint could not be removed from the EEOB’s stone facade without risking its destruction...."
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79 comments:
To understand the issue it is important to understand the political loyalties of the ‘preservationists’
Assuming they periodically power wash the built-up soot. Doesn't power washing uncoated masonry trap moisture... oh, that's right. There is also the option of sand-blasting it clean.
Never mind.
Is too early to start pushing the annual “War on Christmas” articles?
"Designed" to be unpainted? Lots of people paint concrete cinder block or other masonry such as red brick, which seem to be designed for unpainted use. The aesthetics are subjective. Another group of boys crying wolf.
When Trump leaves office, he wants to be the only eminence grise in DC. CC, JSM
The only reason this is an issue is because it was a slow day in the Democrat Swamp, particularly since the Epstein email gambit appears to be crashing and burning much like every other Dem hoax, and the anti-Trumpers don't seem to have any other hoax in standby for the media to hype and the judiciary to act on. Pathetic commie bastards all.
Should be immediately dismissed on standing grounds. Plus the building looks like it sat under a smokestack for the last 100 years.
Trump is trying to distract us from the Epstein files! Don't be fooled!
AI: "Yes, the Ennis House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright to be unpainted, using the natural color and texture of its concrete blocks as a primary architectural feature.
Wright intended for the house to appear as an integral part of the hillside, a principle of his "organic architecture". The concrete blocks were hand-cast on-site using local decomposed granite, rock, and dirt, which gave them a distinctive, natural buff or grayish hue that allowed the structure to blend with the surrounding terrain. The focus was on the material's natural texture and the intricate Mayan-inspired geometric patterns of the blocks, not an applied finish."
one of the most architecturally significant and historic structures in the Nation’s Capital
"the Nation's Capital"? That's the kind of haphazard capitalization I'd expect from a commenter on here.
Wikipedia's summary of how the building was regarded during previous decades:
Patterned after French Second Empire architecture that clashed sharply with the neoclassical style of the other Federal buildings in the city, it was generally regarded with scorn and disdain. Writer Mark Twain referred to this building as "the ugliest building in America."[8] President Harry S. Truman called it "the greatest monstrosity in America."[9] Historian Henry Adams called it Mullett's "architectural infant asylum."
If you follow the link, be sure to scroll to the bottom to see the edifice in the background of a picture of President Taft's pet cow.
The White House was painted with lead-based paint in 1818 to protect its porous sandstone exterior. It's still there.
"Preservationists sue Trump over plans to paint Eisenhower building..."
I don't remember hearing from them while Democrats were busy vandalizing and tearing down historical statues. I wonder why not.
I agree with the ballroom - because all parties will use it. It's safer (tents? seriously?) and the rendering look amazing.
Also - donors are paying for it - not tax payers.
This paint project is the first I've heard - and I'm not sure what my opinion is just yet. I'm leaning towards no - but I don't have enough info.
I'm sure the experts that are gonna paint it know all this.. and will add some kind of primer...
I want national voter ID requirements.
don't give a F if some building needs paint or not.
Not too long ago on this blog (I think), someone said "The media is a cat and Trump is the world's largest laser pointer." This is more confirmation if you need it.
So. "Preservationists" say that painting an unpainted masonry surface can trap moisture and accelerate deterioration. I'll bet other "preservationists" can be found on the other side of the question, a la expert witnesses at trial.
I really don't care, Margaret - though I kind of wish someone would spearhead taking down the horrible brutalist courthouse in Bellville, TX, and rebuilding it in its original architectural style (apparently the original burned down, unfortunately in the '60s when brutalism was de riguer for government buildings).
"The only reason this is an issue is because it was a slow day in the Democrat Swamp, particularly since the Epstein email gambit appears to be crashing and burning"
WRONG! Just you wait! Any day now, new revelations from the Epstein files are going to finish Trump, FINISH him I say!
JUST YOU WAIT, THE END IS NEAR!
"a picture of President Taft's pet cow"
Sure that isn't Taft himself?
Climate change, control? A prophylactic to mitigate progress.
"why he think's painting is good."
Yikes, the misuse of the ' has even infected the Prof.
Sad.
Gray is chromaphobic.
Always thought it foolish to paint masonry surfaces in general and certainly stone. You wind up trading a surface that needs no maintenance to one that does.
You know who else liked to paint? Yeah, exactly…
Jamie is correct.
The paint industry has come a long way in the past 30 years. I am certain that they make a masonry paint that both protects and "breathes." Here's one example https://acrymax.com/historic-preservation/
In the historic district where we previously resided, the one thing that the HDC had no control over was paint color--because it wasn't "permanent."
I do wonder whether just washing the place might spruce it up.
Golf clap, Beasts.
I hope he's just trolling with this. It'll look like a wedding cake, which I fear is something Trump would really love.
"This'll keep them busy until they're screaming No More Epstein!" - mezzrow's virtual Trump.
The risk of overplaying defense is giving up easy dunks. It's like the Democrats like getting posterized by teh Donald
It's the Art of the Deal. Ask for a coat of paint and you'll get the steam cleaning you really want.
Trump is really focusing on the affordability crisis here.
This reminds me of when the High Plains Drifter made the citizens of Lago paint the whole town red.
“The only reason this is an issue is because it was a slow day in the Democrat Swamp”
Impossible to overstate. It’s the central fact of the times. And it’s hilarious that they think Trump doesn’t know it.
“Trump is really focusing on the affordability crisis here.”
This one really makes me chortle. As if the American people have no memory of 2020-24 and the Democrat’s relentless War on the Poor.
So painting buildings like exercising and eating right is bad
Wow am I ever tired of every change in POTUS leads to fierce national debates about paint. A Constitutional crisis if ever there was one.
I'm sure there will be others.
Such surfaces need to be cleaned on regular schedule but I wouldn't paint it unless paint preserves the structure. However, there are paints that allow the underlying structure to breathe. Trump should now offer to paint the building in rainbow colors so that his detractors' heads explode.
If Trump proposes it, it MUST be bad!
Pastels or oil based paint
Built in the French Second Empire style. Well Boy Howdy. I recall when Paris--the "City of Light" sandblasted or steam cleaned or pressure washed the grimy exteriors of many of its buildings. It turned them from black or dark gray to the original light grey which made the city so attractive. The EEOB could stand at least a wash--and maybe a coat of paint.
To build his skyscraper, Trump first had to demolish the Bonwit Teller building, a luxurious limestone structure erected in 1929. The face of the building featured two huge Art Deco friezes that the Metropolitan Museum of Art wanted to preserve. The Art Deco sculptures were semi-nude women dancing with scarves and were located between the eighth and ninth floors of the flagship Bonwit Teller Fifth Avenue store. The museum asked Trump to save the sculptures and donate them, and the he agreed—as long as the cost of doing so wasn’t too high.
But then, according to journalist Harry Hurt III in his book <>Lost Tycoon, Trump discovered that taking out the sculptures would delay demolition by two weeks. He wasn’t willing to wait. “On his orders, the demolition workers cut up the grillwork with acetylene torches,” Hurt wrote. “Then they jackhammered the friezes, dislodged them with crowbars, and pushed the remains inside the building, where they fell to the floor and shattered in a million pieces.”
Trump—posing as spokesman John Barron, one of the fake alter egos he used to speak to the press throughout his career—told the Times that he had the friezes appraised and found they were “without artistic merit” and weren’t worth the $32,000 he supposedly would have had to pay to remove them intact.
London washed away years of grime from its public buildings back in the 1960s. The place became unrecognizable for natives who were used to the blackness.
AT the Kimbell art museum in Ft Worth is an exhibition of the Torlonia collection. It was shared with Chicago Art institute. The Chicago curator told of how most of the 2000 year old statues where painted many colors until the Renaissance when white became the fashion. They ran tests that found the colors deep inside the marble.
It's far too big to be white. The glare would be obnoxious. The White House only gets away with it because of its trees and relative smallness. I fear the ball room will make afternoons on the south lawn unpleasant until new trees grow.
"Yes, the Ennis House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright to be unpainted, using the natural color and texture of its concrete blocks as a primary architectural feature."
I've been there and seen the place. AI doesn't mention that the facade is literally falling apart. Tiles fallen off and broken on the ground. Maybe if it had been painted it wouldn't have weathered so badly.
Mother Jones - LOL.
Affordability concern out of dems mouths is hilarious. Everything the left does - makes life more expensive.
It looks like both sides of the argument don't understand concrete, paint, moisture and aesthetics. When tax money is thrown into the equation, it all appears as madness.
If it's anything like refrigerators, there's white and then there's white.
I think that Trump should issue a Presidential Declaration that henceforth, the Republican team color is Blue and the Democrat team color is Red, in keeping with its tendency toward the red category of politics, namely Socialism (Communism) and Communism. And then he should paint the EEOB blue.
If it's anything like refrigerators, maybe Trump could consider Avocado, Harvest Gold, or Coppertone.
My thoughts are, I guess, the group should have no standing to sue. This is a politician, and the way to control the politician is to vote for political opponents or opposing party in future elections.
The walls of the Executive Office Building should be covered with fur, buckskin and whale bone.
He's the real estate guy. He should be able to explain why adding a layer of paint to an unpainted surface is good.
---------
Are you serious??
Do you think real estate men, into the art of the deal, understand the nuance of craftsmanship. They just want to make it look pretty... ups the sale price. They think short term. Maintenance and preservation are not their specialties, ann.
It's like telling us that hedge-fund guys who buy up newspapers and help the business turn/maximize a profit are good at grammar or diagramming sentences because... they're media guys...
Do you even read what you write? Is there anyone with critical thinking skills left in your life? meade, the boys, Del... grok. You really need to get some people in your life who can think, and tell you when you're being stupid. Really.
And there it is...
" I don't care one way or the other."
The boomers have exited the conversation, but they refuse to cede the stage. (Don't talk, or type, if you don't know or care. Your boyfriends here feed off your "cues".)
The US president is taking us to war...
and people think it is wise to highlight him micromanaging paint colors?? Make it make sense, old people...
The first story is made of Maine granite from Vinalhaven, the upper floors are made from Richmond Granite from the James River. Granite is not likely to absorb moisture and cracking in granite is due to freeze thaw conditions that are infrequently encountered in DC. They are conflating with limestone. At a University I visit in a cold climate the ground level granite building foundations of 1870 era buildings were painted and yet, they still stand today! Granite is very hard low porosity high compressive strength, chemically resistant material. I would keep road salt off of it though.
Regardless, I personally would never paint a concrete or stone surface, I would shotblast it clean, because I don’t want to have to repaint it.
Trump is making the White House look like a cheap French bordello.
The White House is made of Aquina sandstone which is a weak crappy stone, so it should have been painted to seal it and try to glue it together.
Why doesn’t Ann care one way or the other? She has a good eye and strong opinions on art.
Inga said...
“Trump is making the White House look like a cheap French bordello.”
Is your knowledge of French bordellos based on experience?
Management, labor or customer?
“Is your knowledge of French bordellos based on experience?”
Experience of course! Well, no I just read books that have illustrations.
Does it really matter what Trump does to improve things?
Igna and the Dem Cult will oppose it. Why even try to engage them in an intelligent conversation? As Kammie Harris demonstrated in the 2024 campaign, these people are truly morons.
There are so many dingbats, morons, fools, and idiots who are reflexively opposed to anything Trump does or even supports* that I automatically deprecate objections to his proposals. Lefties are opposed to Trump refurbishing the ugliest federal office building** in Washington? Could there be a better reason to go ahead and do it just the way he has proposed?
__________________
* If Trump proclaimed the value of breathing, Inga would smother her grandchildren before the sun set twice.
** Am I the only Althouse commentator who has actually seen its hideous edifice?
You know, you leftists don't have to swing at every pitch.
“Trump is making the White House look like a cheap French bordello.”
Actually, he's making it look like the better class of expensive French bordello.
Well they will drink air
"...the ugliest federal office building** in Washington..."
I think that prize goes to either the HUD building or the HHS building, both of which are Brutalist monstrosities.
"You know, you leftists don't have to swing at every pitch."
Since the left defines itself based on group membership, they pretty much do have to if that's what others in the group are doing.
If someone on the left decided not to participate in what everyone else is doing, they'd be ostracized by the rest of the left. So- they don't have any choice but to go along with what they're told The Latest Outrage is.
And that's whatever it is Trump did (or didn't do) today.
On the plus side that doesn't take a lot of thinking, and 'not a lot of thinking' is the left's home run swing.
Wolfe properly hated bauhaus
“If Trump proclaimed the value of breathing, Inga would smother her grandchildren before the sun set twice.”
If Trump thought one of his children or grandchildren were going to stab him in the back, he’d have someone push them down the stairs and bury them in the back forty of his golf course to eventually be covered with weeds.
By knocking a hole in his house right before winter and then boasting about spray-painted Home Depot decor, Donald Trump is showing a savvy empathy for the DIY skills of the average American male.
White is albinophilic.
Albino represents the integrated Rainbow, equal and inclusive. A Diversitists' nightmare. #HateLovesAbortion
Big Mike: "Am I the only Althouse commentator who has actually seen its hideous edifice?"
I've been in the Old EOB (its former name) a bunch of times. I love it. I love all the late 19th century buildings in DC - damn few left. Cast-iron technology. Tiled floors. Courtyards for light and (before HVAC) ventilation. High ceilings. Transoms. The mansards make the attic level especially picturesque inside. The place makes you think you're in a Caillebotte painting.
Ugliest building in DC? The FBI Hoover Building, hands down. CC, JSM
“Why doesn’t Ann care one way or the other? She has a good eye and strong opinions on art.”
I don’t care as between white and gray at this point. I’m not seeing the building in real life and in context.
Truman didn’t want the job, but campaigned to keep it? Must have grown to like it.
Wrong thread.
My 6th grade class helped fill out the crowd when Nixon received Indira Gandhi on the South Lawn in '71. I liked it then and haven't changed my mind.
Andrew Mellon shelled out significantly more for Tenn. marble for the National Gallery because the white marble used in the Federal Triangle was too bright.
“ Andrew Mellon shelled out significantly more for Tenn. marble for the National Gallery because the white marble used in the Federal Triangle was too bright.”
Bit OT, but the marble pit in Marble, CO is now back in operation. That’s where a lot of the white marble in DC came from. One of the biggest pieces ever, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, took several flatcars to move. The bulk of the white marble being quarried is now shipped by truck (the railroad having been pulled out several decades ago) to, I believe, Delta, to be cut up into tile.
It’s beautiful stuff. We were up there in Sept (on an Aspen viewing trip). By the entrance to the road to the pit were a couple flatbeds with the biggest pieces of white marble I have ever seen outside DC. In town, there is a great bbq restaurant, and a bit beyond it is a house with a yard filled with marble sculptures. Some small (we bought one about a foot and a half high) and some much larger. Very reasonable prices. Much of the work is done in the woods around town, by artists who have moved to be near the source, after the quarry reopened, up from Redstone, when we were through there in the 1980s. The guy there has a good selection, but if you want something special, the artists also do commissions.
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