The White House Rose Garden lawn is officially gone: See the most recent photos of Donald and Melania’s concrete redesign
The White House Rose Garden is practically unrecognizable as President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump continue to renovate it this summer.
A fresh photograph, taken on Tuesday, July 22, reveals the massive concrete slab that currently sits where grass formerly grew in the historic site, which was granted a center lawn in 1961 at the request of President John F. Kennedy.
In a March interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, Trump revealed his plan to lay concrete and build something more like a presidential patio.
“You know, we use [the Rose Garden] for press conferences, and it doesn’t work because the people fall,” he joked. “The terrain can be soggy, and some people may struggle with the mushy ground. Women in high heels—it just didn’t work.”
When the repairs began in early June, a White House official described the new structure as a “restoration” and told PEOPLE that Trump and Melania “have deep respect for the history of the White House and the Rose Garden.”
“This restoration to the Rose Garden preserves the beauty of the space and builds on the work done in 2020,” stated a city official, “with a focus on enhancing practical use and guest experience for those attending special events.”
Melania experienced substantial outrage when she first renovated the Rose Garden in 2020. The first lady even issued a rare public remark when NBC News presidential historian Michael Beschloss referred to her botanical vision as “grim.”
“Evisceration of the White House Rose Garden was completed a year ago this month, and here was the grim result—decades of American history made to disappear,” Beschloss said in 2021, referring to Melania’s limestone border in the outdoor space, which frequently hosts speeches and receptions for visiting dignitaries, sports teams, and others.
Melania’s staff shot back at Beschloss on X, tweeting a new photo of the garden in full bloom.
“@BeschlossDC demonstrated his ignorance by displaying an image of the Rose Garden in its infancy. “The Rose Garden is adorned with a healthy and colorful blooming of roses,” her office stated at the time. “His misleading information is dishonorable, & he should never be trusted as a professional historian.”
While many people detested the harsh appearance of Melania’s limestone border, the 2020 project aimed to enhance drainage and sunshine to the Rose Garden, whose namesake flowers have struggled to grow over time. Melania witnessed the installation of 200 new rose plants, leaving only 12 old ones behind.
The renovations, which are being done by the National Park Service and sponsored by the Trust for the National Mall, are projected to be completed by mid-August 2025.
The new building coincides with recent viral attention to Trump’s other renovations to the White House, such as the gilding of the Oval Office.
According to an April story in The Wall Street Journal, the president hired his “gold guy,” cabinetmaker John Icart, to design golden borders for his political photos, gilded carvings for the fireplace mantel, and a gold Trump insignia in a doorway.
Icart has previously worked on Mar-a-Lago projects, and the showy design is also reminiscent of Trump’s famed Trump Tower apartment.
The changes stand in sharp contrast to the modest designs used by previous presidents such as Joe Biden and Barack Obama.