Posted on 12/04/2025 7:44:24 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
Donald Trump has replaced the chief architect in charge of designing his grandiose $300 million White House ballroom.
The president replaced James McCrery II and his architecture firm back in late October, according to the Washington Post.
Behind the scenes, Trump and McCrery battled over the commander-in-chief’s desire to keep increasing the size of the new building.
One source said Trump decided to replace the esteemed designer after McCrery’s firm repeatedly missed deadlines and its small workforce made progress difficult.
Trump's ballroom, paid for by big tech donors including Amazon and Google, is described as 90,000 square feet in official announcements - significantly larger than the 55,000 square feet mansion residence section of the White House complex.
It is unclear if McCrery stepped back voluntarily, but the president and him remain on good terms, a source told the outlet.
Trump's ballroom project is now being led by architect Shalom Baranes, a veteran designer for government buildings in Washington for decades.
Baranes's firm has been involved in redesigning the main Treasury building and the headquarters of the General Services Administration.
The White House says McCrery still remains involved in the project on a 'consulting' basis.
'McCrery still remains as a valuable consultant on the ballroom project,' A White House official told the Daily Mail.
'This is not a replacement but rather a passing of the baton as the project develops into new phases.'
McCrery's firm has been involved in notable projects focusing on large-scale cathedrals across the country.
In 2018, his firm finished construction on the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The worshipping center's size is over 28,000 square feet with a dome that rises 14 stories above the ground.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I had to do a quick search asking was the Pentagon built in six months. AI said “Yes, the Pentagon was built in just over six months.” The next sentence :”The Pentagon took 16 months to build beginning on Sept. 11, 1941....”
Two things. I think AI wants to be my friend and agree with me, even though 6 months is not anywhere close to 16 months. (Of course today it could take 16 years with environmental permits and other crap).
The other thing - the Pentagon started on 9/11!!?? I’m sure somebody picked up on that 25 years ago, but I’m not sure I ever read it.
I took a tour of the Pentagon. The guide said that it was built in six months. I did not ask Google to verify this.
It could be that both six and sixteen months are correct. Six months to build the facility, and another ten months to paint, install flooring, etc.
This guide also told us of how the Russians who were spying on us determined the most important part of the Pentagon. They noted that everyone at the Pentagon visited a particular building in the courtyard every day and concluded that it was a very important building. It was! It was a hot dog stand. Can’t let all the military at the Pentagon starve, can we?
“It was! It was a hot dog stand.”
Funny!
I find this stuff interesting. On the History Channel website it said the first employees started working at their offices in the Pentagon in April after the September start.
The 700,000 tons of sand for the concrete was dredged from the Potomac! No way could that be done today with environmental regulations, screening for toxins in the sand, etc. (Hmm - probably a good way to clean contaminants from a riverbed - turn it into concrete.)
That's pretty much what our guide said. The reason they could build the Pentagon so quickly was because there were no environmental regulations.
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