Donald Trump’s White House just put more than $250,000 toward a very different kind of sporting upgrade. The administration approved a major lighting contract for the exclusive Harry S. Truman Bowling Alley, reviving a facility that has sparked political fights before.
The two-lane alley sits inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and serves White House aides and their guests. The latest spending covered lighting and secure worker escorts. The GSA also awarded the same contractor a separate $878,000 basement studio project, though the contract listing did not connect it to the bowling alley.
The White House bowling alley received a six-figure lighting upgrade
According to Politico, the General Services Administration awarded Charles Mann Enterprises nearly $253,000 on July 28. The money covered lighting work at the Truman Bowling Alley. On Aug. 18, the agency awarded the same company another $8,800. That contract covered escorts for outside workers moving through secure areas during the project.
The White House and GSA did not immediately comment on the spending. Charles Mann Enterprises also received an $878,000 contract for an EEOB basement studio project. However, the listing offered no details connecting that award to the bowling alley.
The facility has a surprisingly long presidential history. Harry Truman opened the original alley in 1947 as a gift celebrating his 63rd birthday. Dwight Eisenhower moved it to the EEOB in 1955, while Bill Clinton renovated it in 1994.
Donald Trump’s first administration also gave the space attention. Melania Trump oversaw restoration of its original wooden lanes, updated electrical wiring, new mechanics and a fresh interior. The Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America funded that renovation.
The latest project also revived memories of a political headache from Barack Obama’s presidency. In 2014, GSA proposed rebuilding the lanes after calling them “irreparable.” The plan disappeared just 90 minutes after Time reported it. Republicans attacked the proposal as an unnecessary use of taxpayer money.
Former Rep. Pat Meehan even compared the upgrade to ice cream, calling it a “want” rather than a need. He later argued that upgrading the president’s private bowling alley “shouldn’t be a priority.” This time, the administration moved ahead with a smaller project. Still, the $250,000-plus price tag has once again put the White House bowling alley in the spotlight.
