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DrWebGiven a moment on a roof with a view of the East Wing demolition, an AP photographer recorded history
Construction workers, bottom right, atop the U.S. Treasury, watch watch as demolition continues on the East Wing of the White House to make room for a new ballroom, in Washington, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin)By JACQUELYN MARTIN Published 5:13 AM PDT, October 31, 2025
Jacquelyn Martin has been a staff photojournalist for The Associated Press based in Washington, D.C., since 2006.
Here is what she had to say about this extraordinary photo.
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Why this photo?
When the AP heard that demolition was going to begin on the East Wing of the White House, our photography and reporting teams immediately began to brainstorm locations where we could reveal the scope of the work. Photographer Evan Vucci went out the first day and found a spot in the park across the street. I was sent out the next two days and brought a ladder with me as I scoured the publicly accessible areas on the ground level with a 200-600mm lens, shooting through tall black metal fencing using the longest zoom for the best chance of any sight of the machines at work. But none of the very few possible angles to shoot from showed well the White House in the background, making it hard to understand visually what was happening – and the machines were still quite far away.
People would gather round to try and get a glimpse of what was happening, some commenting sadly on how they couldn’t believe it, asking “Is this even legal?” One couple expressed excitement for a new ballroom. It looked like any work site, dust made it hard to see from the ground, and there was no sense of scale.
I’ve been a photographer at the AP in Washington for almost 20 years, and the city is known for its history. Most things here are preserved for their historic value. For a part of any historic building here _ but particularly a part of the White House complex _ to be completely demolished, was unusual news and historically important to document.
Because I’d been photographing the demolition for days, I knew it was getting close to the end, but I didn’t expect what I saw as I stepped onto the roof – the East Wing had been completely removed, including the majority of the colonnade.
We needed to get higher, but drones aren’t allowed in Washington’s restricted airspace.
How I made this photo
The best angle would’ve been from the U.S. Treasury, and we were not going to be granted access to that. Same for the White House complex. After we tried to gain access to several tall buildings in the area and were denied, AP White House reporter Seung Min Kim used her sourcing to get us brief access to the rooftop of a private building on the other side of the Treasury – with a direct and elevated view of the demolition from its rooftop. The source said I’d need to be quick as they didn’t want to get in trouble. They thought it was important to make a public record of what had been done.
I had been using a 200-600mm lens even from the ground, so I decided to bring that up top with me. I could utilize the camera’s internal zoom function to try for more detailed shots as needed. I also brought a tripod. I knew from that distance, with that lens and the wind on the roof, it might be hard to get a stable shot. I was asked to shoot video of the scene as well as stills – an added challenge given that I wouldn’t be allowed much time.
Even from this height it was important to find the right angle where trees didn’t obscure the scope. There were several machines at work, and I wanted to wait for the red painted excavator to line up and contrast with the White House. As I was trying to get even a little higher, since the top of the Treasury’s roof was obscuring the work in the foreground, I noticed there were construction workers surveying the work from the very same roof that I had worried was obscuring the view.
Why this photo works
This photo works because the workers in yellow vests become a stand-in for the viewer of the image – surveying the demolition, the red excavator and the White House’s half-moon window that is iconic. There’s a small figure in a blue blazer behind the North Portico, walking away from the White House that was.
For more extraordinary AP photography, click here.
Martin photographs politics at the White House and Congress and has circumnavigated the globe as a pool photographer covering every Secretary of State since 2010. She is known for her multidisciplinary enterprise feature packages and is fluent in Spanish.
One Extraordinary Photo: Capturing the destruction of the White House’s East Wing | AP News
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