The White House complex is getting another upgrade on President Donald Trump’s watch — this time, it’s the historic two-lane bowling alley that’s getting a glow-up.
The General Services Administration (GSA) awarded a contract worth more than $250,000 to renovate the lighting at the Harry S. Truman Bowling Alley, according to a Politico report published Monday. The July 28 contract went to Charles Mann Enterprises, a Washington-based construction firm, which later received an additional $8,800 contract to escort workers through secure areas during the project.
The company is headed by its founder, Charles Mann, a former NFL defensive end who played for the Washington Redskins and the San Francisco 49ers. Mann was selected to four Pro Bowls and won three Super Bowls during his professional football career.
A Lane With Presidential History
The bowling alley has deep White House roots. A West Wing basement alley was first built in 1947 under President Harry Truman, according to the White House Historical Association. The lanes were later transferred to the Old Executive Office Building in the 1950s. Then, in 1973, President Richard Nixon added a bowling alley to the White House residential complex, as he enjoyed bowling with his wife.
The project now set in motion isn’t the first attempt to spruce up the alley. A renovation effort under President Barack Obama in 2014 was scrapped amid Republican objections — the GOP-controlled House later approved an amendment prohibiting federal funding for that project.
During Trump’s first term, first lady Melania Trump oversaw a restoration of the Nixon-era alley that brought back its original wooden lane and updated its electrical wiring, machinery, and interior. That work was funded by the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America.
Part Of A Larger Overhaul
The lighting renovation is just the latest in a string of construction projects Trump has rolled out across the White House complex during his second term. He has remade the Rose Garden with a white stone patio and statues honoring America’s founders, overseen construction of a granite helipad on the South Lawn, and renovated the historic Lincoln Bedroom bathroom.
Trump has also pushed for a larger, more ambitious project: a new White House ballroom and military complex, which he argues is necessary for national security. That plan has drawn opposition from preservation groups, but it cleared a significant legal hurdle Monday when the Supreme Court allowed construction to continue while litigation proceeds. The 5-4 ruling did not decide on the project’s legality, only that the National Trust for Historic Preservation was unlikely to establish standing to challenge the construction.
The bowling alley project, by comparison, is a smaller but still symbolic marker of Trump’s imprint on the executive mansion — a touch of presidential nostalgia updated for the modern era.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/iconic-white-house-amenity-is-next-up-on-the-renovation-list