Federal Panel Considers Plan to Paint Granite Eisenhower Executive Office Building White

Donald Trump wants to paint the granite Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., white. Yesterday the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) met to review the Trump administration’s proposal for the project. On April 16 plans were also submitted to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which approved the idea on the condition of successful “testing of the proposed exterior paint.”

Originally known as the State, War, and Navy Building, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building was built between 1871 and 1888 to house those entities. Now part of the White House compound, it is home to the agencies comprising the Executive Office of the President.

The plan to paint the building represents another bid by Trump to “beautify” the White House complex and nearby areas. It would cost an estimated $7.5 million and has generated more than 2,000 public comments, most of them negative.

Preservationists and architects argue that painting the landmarked structure could cause long-term damage to its granite and that a painted façade would require constant maintenance. A letter submitted by Rob Nieweg, of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, read in part, “The historic EEOB has been preserved, un-painted, since its completion in 1888. [P]ainting the exterior now would obscure the landmark’s historic appearance, undermine its character-defining features, and accelerate the building’s deterioration.”

At the meeting, the NCPC unanimously requested further information before reviewing the plans again. The project will also require final approval from the Commission of Fine Arts. Both agencies, which Trump has stacked with supporters, are considered likely to eventually approve the proposal.