This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows carpenters laying the flooring in the State Dining Room. The flooring is quartered white oak laid in a herringbone pattern. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows a worker removing bricks during the demolition. The bricks were funneled down through a wooden conduit to be stored for possible use as souvenir materials. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows the removal of the groin vaulting from the Ground Floor Corridor. Large portions of the original 18th century construction are visible. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows a workman finishing the trim on the window in the West Sitting Hall. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows two men standing in the Yellow Oval Room with part of the floor completely removed and the Blue Room exposed beneath. The north wall and the floor were removed in order to install steel shoring columns. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows workers returning F. Graham Cootes' 1936 portrait of President Woodrow Wilson to its place on the wall of the Red Room. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows the Ground Floor demolition. An archway from the Ground Floor Corridor and the outline of the former stairway between the Ground Floor and State Floor are about all that remains as interior walls are removed and replaced with temporary steel supports. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows the Entrance Hall under construction, with both the bones of William Adams Delano's grand staircase and the steel cores for white marble columns exposed. Delano also consulted on the construction of the Truman Balcony. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows the gutted East Room. Visible are the steel frame towers built to support the third floor and the roof while the rest of the house was demolished. One of the steel beams has the word "Bethlehem" in white lettering. The Bethlehem Steel company of Pennsylvania provided the support beams. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph shows the interior of the White House completely gutted with a bulldozer in the foreground. Visible are the steel frame towers built to support the third floor and the roof while the rest of the house was demolished. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows workers inspecting a new elevator in the sub-basement. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows workmen inside the new White House ventilation system being installed above the tunnel in the new basement. The photograph was taken to underscore the size of the system. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph shows the interior of the White House completely gutted with a bulldozer in the foreground. Visible are the steel frame towers built to support the third floor and the roof while the rest of the house was demolished. One of the steel beams has the word "Bethlehem" in white lettering. The Bethlehem Steel company of Pennsylvania provided the support beams. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows steel frame towers built to support the third floor and the roof while the rest of the house was demolished. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows the underside of the floor of the room where Margaret Truman's piano sank in the summer of 1948. The damage is seen from the Family Dining Room after the plaster ceiling had been removed. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph shows a work crew laying subflooring in the Center Hall on the Second Floor of the Executive Mansion. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows a floor to ceiling crack in the north wall of the West Sitting Room. Stress fractures such as this one were some of the many structural problems that led to President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows workers hanging one of the East Room chandeliers. This work was part of President Harry S. Truman's large-scale 1948-1952 renovation of the White House.