Who designed the White House grounds and when were they last renovated?
Executive summary
The general layout of the White House grounds as seen today traces to a 1935 plan by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. of the Olmsted Brothers firm, while signature garden spaces — most notably the Rose Garden and First Lady’s Garden — were designed or reworked by Rachel “Bunny” Lambert Mellon (with collaborators) and later teams [1] [2] [3]. The last wholesale structural renovation of the White House residence was Harry S. Truman’s gutting and reconstruction from 1948 to 1952, overseen architecturally by Lorenzo Winslow [4] [5]; more recent work on the grounds includes targeted garden renewals (most recently the Rose Garden renewal noted in reporting as 2021) and a new round of construction and alterations beginning in 2025 [2] [3] [6].
1. Origins and the question of “who designed the grounds”
The site was chosen by George Washington and cultivated early on by presidents like Thomas Jefferson, but the formal, broadly cited landscape plan that defines the modern White House grounds was commissioned in 1935 to Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. of the Olmsted Brothers firm, whose design shaped the general layout still referenced today [1] [4]. That 1935 plan did not freeze the property — every administration has adjusted plantings, circulation and small features — yet historians and landscape architects point to Olmsted Jr.’s work as the organizing blueprint for the grounds [1].
2. Signature gardens: Mellon, Wheeler and later renovators
Individual garden rooms were the work of later designers: Rachel “Bunny” Lambert Mellon is credited with designing the West Garden (the Rose Garden) and the East or First Lady’s Garden — often in collaboration (Perry Wheeler is named as a collaborator) — and her redesigns became the template for how the White House presents ceremonial outdoor spaces [3] [2]. Those gardens have been renewed at various times: reporting cites a Rose Garden redesign origin under Mellon and a later renewal completed in 2021 by firms including Oehme, van Sweden and Perry Guillot, demonstrating that garden design at the White House is iterative, not static [3] [2].
3. The last major renovation of the house itself: Truman’s gutting, 1948–1952
When asking “when were they last renovated,” it’s crucial to separate the building from the landscape: the last comprehensive, structural renovation of the White House residence was the Truman reconstruction (1948–1952), a full gut-and-rebuild project driven by structural failures; Lorenzo Winslow oversaw the reconstruction and the Trumans returned in 1952 [4] [5] [7]. Historic overviews and the White House Historical Association list this as the most significant mid‑20th‑century renovation, and many subsequent updates have been incremental [7] [4].
4. Recent ground work and the 21st‑century patchwork of projects
Grounds work since Truman has been episodic: Michelle Obama added a kitchen garden on the South Lawn in 2009; the Rose Garden has been altered, paved over and renewed at different moments in modern administrations, with a 2021 renewal specifically cited in landscape accounts [2] [3]. Beginning in 2025, reporting documents a renewed wave of construction and alterations — including demolition around the East Wing and a proposed new state ballroom — that has again changed portions of the grounds and adjacent structures, with federal announcements naming McCrery Architects and construction firms engaged [8] [6] [9].
5. Politics, preservation and competing narratives
Renovations at the White House are inherently political: administrations use design choices to signal priorities and legacy, and recent public statements frame work either as necessary upkeep “untouched since Truman” (a phrasing circulated by White House messaging) or as controversial alterations to historic fabric, depending on the speaker [6] [8]. Preservationists point to Olmsted Jr. and Mellon legacies when arguing for historically informed interventions, while some contemporary projects emphasize new functions (ballrooms, office space) and executive preference; coverage notes debates over secrecy, security and aesthetic choices around recent renovations [8] [6].
6. Bottom line and reporting limits
The modern White House grounds owe their general arrangement to Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.’s 1935 plan and their most famous garden rooms to Rachel Lambert Mellon (with collaborators), while the last full structural renovation of the residence was Truman’s 1948–1952 reconstruction overseen by Lorenzo Winslow; more recent and ongoing work has focused on garden renewals (e.g., 2021 Rose Garden work) and new construction projects announced in 2025 [1] [2] [4] [5] [3] [6]. Reporting supplied here documents these dates and designers; if finer-grained timelines for every garden bed or hardscape change are required, available sources summarize the major inflection points but do not catalogue every minor planting or service‑level repair.