The changes are intended to keep out intruders following the arrests of several people who have tried to scale the fence.
By Dana Hedgpeth Dana Hedgpeth Reporter covering local breaking news Email Bio Follow May 24 at 12:08 PM The White House is getting a taller fence for the first time in about a century as part of improvements beginning this summer for the perimeter of the grounds.
Thomas Luebke, secretary of the fine arts commission, said the new fence is “not that different from what’s there now, but it’s a great increase in scale.”The White House, a National Historic Landmark, sits on about 18 acres in downtown Washington, while the history of its fence dates to the 1800s. The fence is about 3,500 feet long and is constructed along Pennsylvania Avenue NW to the north, East Executive and West Executive avenues NW to the east and west, and E Street NW to the south.
The new fence is one component of a larger plan to enhance security near the Ellipse south of the White House and areas around the Treasury and Eisenhower Executive Office buildings.In a statement, Secret Service spokeswoman Catherine Milhoan said her agency and the Park Service developed “an appropriate barrier that will keep the White House and grounds as accessible as possible to the public while ensuring the highest level of security of the White House and its occupants.
In January, a 55-year-old woman from Southeast Washington tried to jump a barrier, and a Virginia man in February tried to get into the White House, saying he wanted to help President Trump “bring peace to the world.”
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