Passersby stared as billows of smoke rose into the air above the White House as part of the home shared by the United States president and his family crumbled to the ground.

In what marked the first time a president ordered major construction in nearly eight decades, work crews began work and demolished the facade of the East Wing of the White House on Monday, Oct. 20.

The construction is part of President Donald Trump's plan to build a ballroom on the eastern side of the White House.

Trump said during an event in the East Room on Oct. 20 that the ballroom construction work began earlier in the day.

Later that day, the president posted on social media that the East Wing is "being fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete."

Photos from the scene show cranes near the White House as the next steps to Trump's nearly $200 million, 90,000-square-foot expansion of the East Wing began.

See photos of White House demolition

Has the White House ever been renovated?

In 1817, then-President James Monroe moved into the newly completed White House.

More than a century later,1952 marked the completion of the Harry S. Truman Renovation, according to The White House archives. That construction began in 1948 and "completely gutted and rebuilt the White House from the inside."

Contributing: Zac Anderson, USA TODAY

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: See White House demolition in East Wing to build new ballroom

Reporting by Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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