White House visitors can now see the newly repaved Rose Garden. A series of UPI photos shows how the gardens have bloomed in the past and how they look today.

Construction will begin in September on a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom, his press secretary announced Thursday, fulfilling a 15-year ambition by the president to construct an event space on the White House grounds that expands the building’s entertaining capacity — but also resembles the gilded spaces of his private clubs.

It will be the latest change introduced to what’s known as “The People’s House” since the Republican president returned to office in January. It also will be the first structural change to the Executive Mansion itself since the addition of the Truman balcony in 1948.