Capturing History: Jacquelyn Martin on Photographing the White House East Wing Demolition

When Associated Press photojournalist Jacquelyn Martin set out to document the demolition of the East Wing of the White House, she knew she was witnessing something rare. Washington, D.C., is a city built on preservation and history — and to see a portion of the White House complex itself being torn down was a story that needed to be told in pictures.

From the moment the Associated Press learned demolition was underway, the team raced to find vantage points that could reveal the full scope of the work. Photographer Evan Vucci captured the first day’s images from a park across the street. When Martin took over in the following days, she came armed with a ladder and a 200–600mm lens, scouring every publicly accessible spot she could find.

Despite her persistence, every angle seemed to fall short — the view was blocked by fencing, and from ground level, the massive machinery and rising dust offered little sense of scale or setting.

“People would gather round to try and get a glimpse,” Martin recalled in an article for the AP’s “One Extraordinary Photo” series. “Some couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Others joked about what might be built in its place.”

Finding the Perfect View

Determined to capture the significance of the moment, Martin and her team realized they needed height — but in Washington’s restricted airspace, drones were not an option, and access to nearby government rooftops was denied. Then, through the persistence of AP White House reporter Seung Min Kim, they secured brief access to a private building rooftop that overlooked the site.

The permission came with a catch: they had to move fast. “They didn’t want to get in trouble,” Martin said. “But they also thought it was important to make a public record of what had been done.”

With her long lens, tripod, and a narrow window of time, Martin set up her shot. From that elevated perspective, she could finally see the full scene — the East Wing completely removed, the colonnade gone, and construction crews working against the backdrop of the iconic White House façade.

The Photo’s Impact

What makes the resulting image so compelling is not just its documentation of history, but its layered storytelling. In the frame, workers in yellow vests stand on a rooftop, gazing down at the demolition below — becoming stand-ins for the viewer, witnesses to a moment of transformation. A red excavator contrasts vividly against the pale architecture, while the familiar half-moon window of the White House anchors the scene in context.

In the background, a small figure in a blue blazer walks away from the North Portico — a subtle detail underscoring the feeling of departure and change.

For Martin, who has photographed Washington for nearly two decades, the image represents more than technical mastery — it’s a visual record of history in motion. “Most things here are preserved for their historic value,” she said. “To see a part of the White House complex demolished was both unusual and historically important.”