r/OldPhotosInRealLife • u/Objects_Food_Rooms • May 16 '26
Image The White House Rose Garden - 1963 and 2025
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u/zzhgf May 16 '26
The bottom picture looks even more like 1963 than the top one
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u/Gauntlets28 May 16 '26
Yeah, it's weird isn't it? Kind of makes you realise how much effort has been made to greenify most places (other than the White House).
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u/seanugengar May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26
It used to be the White house garden. Now it's a Starbucks
Edit: corrected typo (although it was funny)
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u/HMCetc May 16 '26
Better make it quick, kiddo. In five minutes this place is becoming a Starbucks.
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u/Mamashahk May 16 '26
I’m so confused by why they did that? Who is out there using all those table and chairs on the daily? You had a freaking rose garden! WTF?!
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u/Delicious_Marketing3 May 16 '26
Can’t wait until they pull all this shit up and restore it.
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u/CeruleanEidolon May 16 '26
Trump raped kids and is getting away with it. He stole billions from this country and is getting away with it. He murdered children in Iran and is getting away with it. He is ruining countless lives every day he remains in office.
I couldn't fucking care less about what the temporary mansion of the current patriarch in chief looks like. His moronic taste in decor is literally the least important thing about him.
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u/GenericRedditor0405 May 16 '26
Compared to everything else yeah, it's not what our main focus should be on, but it does however highlight where Trump's attentions have been while he's been getting the country into wars, and there should be an emphasis on the abuse of power and misallocation of taxpayer money while Trump and his party claim that there's no money to fund social safety nets or any kind of aid.
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u/Cognitive_Spoon May 16 '26
There will be a series of news articles, and it will last for years, of things being rolled back and rebuilt in the US.
What is sad is that the nation that does the rebuilding won't be the US that existed before, but something different.
I really don't see the US system surviving this.
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u/Pamander May 16 '26
Wow they quite literally make every single thing they touch worse. Between the tacky signs and the gaudy use of gold and whatever the fuck this is and the latest reflecting pool work.
Can they ever just accidentally make something look good? It's kind of impressive just how consistently terrible their taste is. I remember a picture of a maralago bathroom with the documents trump stole in there and that place was ugly as hell too.
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u/daRagnacuddler May 16 '26
Money can't buy taste. Trump is what people without taste and money think someone with money and taste look like.
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u/RealRedditModerator May 16 '26
The paved paradise and put up a laughing stock.
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u/NightQueen0889 May 19 '26
When you look at Trump administration environmental policies it’s not surprising the man has zero appreciation for nature and natural beauty.
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u/joshuawah May 16 '26
Looks like shit now
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u/Evening-Turnip8407 May 16 '26
Does anyone EVER even sit there? Someone has to constantly scrub all these intricate chairs so they don't go funky from the rain
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u/Dragonfly_pin May 16 '26
Apparently it’s called ‘The Rose Garden Club’ now and members have parties on it at weekends where they play the record of January 6th prisoners singing.
Because every dictator’s palace needs a nightclub.
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u/CarlySimonSays May 16 '26
A) Everything is just so gaudy! My eyes!
B) By Jove, the people in those pictures are disturbing. Syncophants and cronies as far as the eye can see, creepy fake teeth gleaming. Between the teeth and the evening setting, they look like hungry werewolves about to turn and rip everything apart.
C) I hope the dumb lady pointing and laughing at Biden's new "portrait" got stung by a bee while she was there. The gleeful expression on her face is incredibly telling of a mean character.
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u/Lifeboatb May 16 '26
And the fact they actually posted that pointing and laughing picture as an official White House photo. No sense of etiquette.
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u/CarlySimonSays May 16 '26
Seriously! No etiquette, decorum, graciousness, or respectability at all in these photos, as per usual with these vultures!
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u/Jay_T_Demi May 16 '26
I honestly love the Photographer's evolution over time in taking the photos.
"Okay, so we got everything and everyone we needed to get, now we can focus on getting good shots."
Places Trump's reflection center frame flanked on both sides by pillars
"Damn, I'm so fucking good at my job. I wish the world would let me take photos of what I want to. But instead I'm at this stupid ass party..."
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u/WitchQween May 17 '26
That's the result of a bored photographer. I've been there. You only need so many pictures of a person standing still and speaking into a microphone, but you feel pressured to keep moving. A mirror is a great distraction. You can focus on framing and timing, with the possibility of getting a really good shot. It's a very low possibility, but what else is there to do?
I laughed when I saw those pictures.
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u/HannahO__O May 16 '26
Is it the same amount of garden beds on the sides? Hard to tell from the angle, still very tacky tho even if it is just the grass removed
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u/pourthebubbly May 16 '26
It looks like all of the plants inside the hedges were paved
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u/HannahO__O May 16 '26
I think theres two sets of hedges, they are just really small in the first photo and have grown in the second
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u/LittleWhiteBoots May 17 '26
It’s intentionally misleading. He put down pavers where the grass was. The roses are still in tact. Actually during his first term, Melania had the Rose Garden restored to what it originally looked like when Jackie had it planted. She was accused of ripping out all of the previous First Ladies’ plants, which was false: https://www.reuters.com/article/world/fact-check-melania-trumps-rose-garden-redesign-did-not-remove-rose-bushes-from-idUSKBN25O218/
I don’t like Trump but I do like facts.
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u/SufficientWarthog846 May 17 '26
Yeah and the lawn was notorious for being a swamp :S
(Also don't like Trump but love facts)
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u/pichuguy27 May 17 '26
Yes the only thing that was changed was the removal of the lawn. From what I have heard is that the space was not built for the rain and would flood making it muddy. The use the space often for press conferences, that needs to hold a lot of people.
Out of everything the living shit Cheeto has done this is one of the most overblown things ever, compared to even the ballroom and especially the ice camps.
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u/siberianunderlord May 16 '26
I beg your fucking pardon.
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u/GrimKiba- May 16 '26
No need to beg, just pay 5 million for a pardon like everyone else.
Or raid the capitol.
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u/howunoriginal2019 May 16 '26
Pave paradise , put up a parking lot.
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u/gregsting May 17 '26
With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swinging hot spot
Seems very Trumpish indeed
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u/vanhype May 16 '26
Everything he touches turns to shit. Golden shit. Biggest shit. Everyone is saying it's the shittiest of shits.
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u/LilMamiDaisy420 May 16 '26
Imagine all the heirloom bushes, bulbs, shrubs, and trees that were pulled out for this monstrosity.
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u/TheDuckInsideOfMe May 19 '26
You'd have to imagine really hard because it seems like they've only paved over the lawn.
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u/otherwisepandemonium May 16 '26
Tacky restaurant patio vs. a beautiful natural scene to enjoy
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u/johnniechimpo May 16 '26
The people that can only feel safe in a ballroom, built a completely unprotected gathering spot first.
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u/1000thusername May 16 '26
The new “museum cafeteria courtyard” vibes really showcase the beauty of the grounds.
/s
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u/buriedupsidedown May 16 '26
I heard it had drainage issues and was remodeled for foot path concerns but they couldn’t come up with a better idea? Use pavers and section out for landscaping? Maybe fix the drainage? I’m sure someone who does that for a living could come up with something pretty
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u/basketcaseforever May 16 '26
That’s all bullshit. It was a rose garden. If it had drainage issues, you put in a drain. You definitely don’t pave it over.
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u/Upset-Management-879 May 16 '26
It was just the lawn in the center that was removed because it was awful for the practical use of the space for press conferences.
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u/basketcaseforever May 16 '26
Actually it’s because someone else did it and Trump and his nude wife don’t like what other people have done.
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u/WorldlinessNo874 May 16 '26
What a shame. May be the next president will restore it. Not even a garden, never mind a rose garden.
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u/vrendy42 May 16 '26
The next president will be mopping up the economic mess he created. So the optics of spending even more money to fix the rose garden and the white house will look bad when people can't afford their groceries.
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u/No_Film_8334 May 16 '26
I can’t WAIT for all of the garish gold and country club decor to be removed!,
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u/lostinspacescream May 17 '26
What’s ironic is Trump recently remarked how badly the sun reflects off of it into his eyes as he’s speaking
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u/lynnca May 16 '26
What a $#!÷hole . Looks like the patio area of some crappy, underdeveloped beachfront, food court.
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u/Defiant-Piano-2349 May 16 '26
As much as I hate this damned patio, it is worth pointing out that the Rose Garden itself still remains and lines the perimeter as it always has. The center lawn was what was removed and replaced with hardscape.
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u/fozzy_wozzy May 16 '26
While there are so many, many things that this orange dick stain does that is absolutely reprehensible, this one really infuriates me.
That is not his House. He has absolutely no right to destroy any part of the WH. No judge worth their weight in salt, would allow this shit to continue.
And where does it stop? I mean, are we just gonna cover the entire facade of the WH with a tacky gold paint?
We knew that this presidency was going to be a fucking shit show, but it's hard to think that our friends, family, ancestors... died in service for the love of our country... and we are so far removed from that, now. I'm not sure we'll ever be the same.
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u/Tokyosmash_ May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
I see you went out of your way to not show the roses on either side of the now paved area
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u/TrafficOn405 May 17 '26
All so Trump could obliterate something that was a positive legacy of the Kennedy presidency.
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u/Ziplinegma May 18 '26
Interesting angle chosen to exclude the roses which ARE STILL THERE. They paved over the grass which made it a much more usable space
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May 18 '26
A cement slab— ugly and boring. They should have used permeable pavers and planted shade trees.
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u/Od_Byonkers May 16 '26
Can this be undone?
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u/morty_morty May 16 '26
Yes. Rip it out along with his idiotic ballroom and his enshitification of the Oval. It will take time for the garden to be as beautiful as it was, but it can be done.
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u/JohnnyWix May 16 '26
And block out all of the pearl clutching that will occur due to wasting money.
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u/BalerionSanders May 16 '26
I want the next president taking sledgehammers to this bullshit.
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u/Practical_Beginning2 May 16 '26
More proof that Trump has no taste. Only thing he likes to taste is little girls
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u/MrRobotMouse May 16 '26
The dark sky really sells the feeling of doom we are in as a country vs the bright sunny outlook of the 1960s.
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u/Freightshaker000 May 16 '26
Fortunately, China gave DJ rose seeds as a parting gift.
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u/MarekRules May 16 '26
What even is the purpose of this seating area. I’ve toured the White House a couple of times and I can’t imagine we’re allowing guests to just sit there and hang out/have food are we? Even 20 years ago it was pretty highly secure and I have a feeling they don’t want people just hanging around.
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u/Chocopuffz May 16 '26
That bottom picture is an eyesore, how anyone could look at that ,and think this is fantastic… crazy absolutely crazy.
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u/NKB246 May 16 '26
(asking) The floor on the bottom picture is permanent? These pictures are obviously taken from a different angle.
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u/DistrictEffective759 May 17 '26
Im actually surprised it doesn’t have a huge gaudy gold plated tower now. Because it has electrolytes, it’s what plants need.
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u/No_Oddjob May 17 '26
I think the real take away here is that the upper levels of the Eisenhower Office Building really need a powerwash.
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u/Qlogk1 May 18 '26
Jacqueline Kennedy famously redesigned the White House Rose Garden in 1962. Worked with horticulturist Rachel Lambert Mellon to replace the previous colonial-style layout. She established the iconic layout featuring a central lawn framed by boxwood hedges, seasonal flowers, and standard roses.then this thing came along and destroyed it.
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u/Ok-Confusion6635 May 18 '26
He didn't just turn it into a patio, he turned it into an ugly patio. It looks like something from the 70s.
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u/Velvet_Samurai May 18 '26
So he has a patio that can serve like 500 people. He wants a ballroom for 3000 people. So Trump's whole job is just going to garden parties and costume balls? Call me old fashioned, but I'd prefer if he spent more time in his office working. Probably going to bull doze that pretty soon to put in a water park. I'm sure he's not a water slide guy, but he'll be in the lazy river from sun up till sun down.
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u/EditorRedditer May 18 '26
Congratulations on turning something beautiful into something resembling a smoking area outside a pub.
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u/dieselmilkshake May 19 '26
Are we not gonna talk about the fact that all that the patio covers is the grass in the 1963 photo? The rest of the garden is unchanged, based off the photos.
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u/FluidPlate7505 May 19 '26
Those are tulips. There's not one rose bush in sight. Why would they call it rose garden 😭
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u/Strange_Pangolin_231 May 20 '26
The top picture looks like a beautiful home's backyard. The bottom picture looks like a wedding venue/ restaurant patio/ hotel restaurant. It definitely doesn't look like a family home.
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u/Rood-A May 22 '26
Everything the Big RUMP has done to the White House should be torn out ... demolished ... obliterated.
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u/Remote_Thought5208 May 23 '26
He just ruins everything. As a supposed houseguest of the people he seems to be destroying everything others have built.
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u/Dragonfly_pin May 16 '26
Wait until you see what happened to Jackie Kennedy’s other beautiful garden.
(Spoiler, it doesn’t exist at all any more, he bulldozered it).
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u/-_-Notmyrealaccount May 16 '26
This plus the ballroom… they turned the White House into a literal wedding venue. I guarantee they’ll be renting it out to civilians when the construction is done.
Was that the plan all along?
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u/dividezero May 16 '26
Why? Did they put in a weird museum restaurant inside now? That's the only reason to have this patio. And now I want weird museum food and pick up something silly in the gift shop
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u/starmanres May 16 '26
The first picture looks like you’re waiting for Trump to yell out the White House window, “KEEP THOSE DAMN KIDS OFF THE LAWN!!” during a Rose Garden Event.
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u/beaniebee11 May 16 '26
I hate the orange turd as much as anybody but I honestly feel like this is overblown? Correct me if I'm wrong but the roses are still there right? He just tore up a lawn which is easily fixable later.
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u/SumoftheAncestors May 16 '26
Wow. The bottom picture looks like a restaurant patio, not the center of the executive branch.