Trump has done this before, damn him!

[steventh]

Trump destroyed the beautiful Bonwit Teller building and saved none of the artifacts in order to build the Trump Tower in NY. I haven't seen any reference here to this history, but I'm so sad and angry about the current crude demolition of the East Wing, I can't bring myself to read all the posts.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaellisicky/2020/10/03/how-donald-trump-took-down-bonwit-teller-a-fifth-avenue-landmark/

As Bonwit Teller was prepared for demolition, preservationists urged Trump to save two artistic elements. A pair of 15-foot bas-relief sculptures, depicting nude women dancing with scarves, and a large nickel-plated grill, located over the store’s main entryway were promised to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Trump agreed to donate them to the Met as long as the costs and the ability to physically remove the Art Deco artifacts were not unreasonably expensive.

Trump surprised New York’s art community on June 5, 1980 when a demolition crew jackhammered the sculptures off of the building. In addition, the intricate grillwork was removed. The destruction drew a public outcry. The Met received no advance notice.

Trump initially avoided any comment about the Bonwit Teller artwork. But John Baron, a spokesperson with the Trump Organization, contacted the New York Daily News to discuss the situation. Baron informed the Daily News that “the merit of the stones was not great enough to justify the effort to save them.” Baron stated that the removal process could have set back Trump Tower’s construction timeline by two weeks. Baron also told the New York Times that he had no idea what happened to the ornate grillwork.

[John1956PA]

1. Once, in a DU thread, I posted a reply about the bas-relief sculptures of the Bonwit Teller Building.

Last edited Wed Oct 22, 2025, 05:29 PM - Edit history (1)

In my reply post, I included an image. Later today, I will search my digital archives for that photo.

Presently, I am sickened that the beautiful East Colonnade of the White House may have been destroyed by the demolition crew in the past few days.

EDITED TO ADD THE FOLLOWING IMAGE:

[steventh]

3. Thank you. Your photo will be greatly appreciated.

The Forbes article photo is from a distance and doesn't show the beautiful dancers with scarves. I hope you find your copy of it to post.

I find it interesting, and not a coincidence, how Trump expresses a pattern of hostility to women:

destruction of the Eleanor Roosevelt Room in the East Wing
destruction of the Jackie Kennedy rose garden
destruction of the Michelle Obama vegetable garden
destruction of the Bonwit Teller dancers

[Mad_Machine76]

2. "John Baron"

aka Trump

[steventh]

4. Yes indeed, John Baron IS Trump

He slipped that by the Forbes reporter, didn't he. But it didn't slip by you. Thanks for pointing it out.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. I thought of that almost immediately, then saw either Rachel or Chris covered it on air yesterday or Monday ....

Rachel actually covered it back in 2016, FWIW.



https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/cover-story-2016-02-01