Sasha and Malia’s White House swing set donated to charity

President Obama called the swing set “pretty spectacular” when it was installed on the White House grounds in 2009 as a surprise for his young daughters.

The cedar and redwood play set, made in South Dakota, had four swings — including a tire swing — a slide, a fort, a climbing wall and climbing ropes, and stood just outside the Oval Office.

The Obamas bought the swing set themselves to make the White House feel more like home for Malia and Sasha, who were 10 and 7 when they moved in.

“Many first families have made these sorts of changes to make the White House feel like home,” Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Michelle Obama, told The Associated Press in 2009. “This one is like their little mark.”

She described how excited the girls were to see it. “They ran right for it. They were really, really excited. All four of them,” Lelyveld said.

The president wanted it not only for his daughters but for other young White House visitors to enjoy.

Even as the Obama girls got older they were still seen using the swings. An AP photographer caught Malia, then 17, using her cellphone while sitting on one of the swings last year.

But now the play set has been dismantled and hauled away from the South Lawn.

A White House official told CNN that the first family offered to leave it in place for the Trumps — who have eight young grandchildren — but they declined.

So the swing set has been donated to a local charity, the official said.

Oh, the memories.

This story was originally published January 6, 2017 at 1:35 PM with the headline "Sasha and Malia’s White House swing set donated to charity."