An excavator works to clear rubble after the East Wing of the White House was demolished, on Thursday. Eric Lee/Getty Images

Everyone says the same thing the first time they go inside the White House: It’s much smaller than they expected.

Inside the West Wing, the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room and the offices of top officials are within steps of one another. The executive mansion, with its great state spaces like the East Room and State Dining Room, is elegant, but intimate. The Cross Hall, leading to the front door on the north front of the building, is imposing but not overwhelming. This is where the haunting picture of a pensive John F. Kennedy hangs, and where President Barack Obama walked down a long red carpet to announce the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011. There’s nothin

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