It was conceived by first lady Edith Roosevelt in 1903, got its name 10 years later from Ellen Wilson, wife of the 28th US president, Woodrow Wilson, and was redesigned for ceremonies under Jackie Kennedy in the 1960s.
The White House Rose Garden is an iconic outdoor space nestled alongside the West Wing and Oval Office, and for decades has hosted bill-signing ceremonies, press conferences, award presentations and formal dinners.
President Barack Obama in the Rose Garden in 2011.Credit: THE WHITE HOUSE
But under President Donald Trump, the garden has been given a different look – and a new name. It is now “the Rose Garden Club”, and had been set to welcome tech leaders for a presidential dinner on Thursday night until bad weather intervened.
“The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. “The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio.”
Paraphernalia spotted at the White House on a rainy Thursday afternoon also bore the name “Rose Garden Club”. It is a fitting rebrand by a president who already has his own club in Florida, Mar-a-Lago, and numerous golf clubs around the US and the world.
The new “Rose Garden Club” as seen from the Colonnade at the White House this week.Credit: AP
Indeed, Trump has set about remaking much of the White House as he sees fit, including redecorating the Oval Office with gold furnishings, installing additional flag poles and building a ballroom off the East Wing, which is in the planning stages.
The Rose Garden (Club) was renovated over summer, the grass paved over with stone, and outdoor tables and seating installed – more reminiscent of the Mar-a-Lago patio than the green garden of Kennedy’s time.
Rain compelled Trump to move Thursday night’s intimate dinner indoors to the State Dining Room, meaning the new-look Rose Garden will have to wait one more night for its post-reno debut (another event is scheduled for Friday evening).
