Nick Valenziano (Nix) kindly sent some photos from his visit to the White House Symposium in 2000, which include a couple of rare shots of restrooms as well as a nice one of the China display cases and a really, really nice one of the Family Theater. Thanks, Nick!
Simultaneously, I have begun (on the Ground Floor) adding little maps to each room page—snippets of the floor plan—to help orient the reader about where the doors and windows and fireplaces are in that room.
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Don't you think that the home of the most powerful man in the world could do a little better than side by side urinals with 70s wood paneling?
ReplyDeleteThe historic urinals are nice, but a bit close together, don't you think?
Certainly there must be some White House guests who suffer from "shy bladder."
Completely agree. In any future redesign of the West Wing, there should be several separate lavatories rather than a "men's room" and a "ladies' room." One deserves one's solitude when one walks the halls of power... to the privvy.
ReplyDeleteHey! I used those very same - ah - facilities - during the 1992 (laying-of-the-cornerstone) Bicentennial Symposium! (Nick apparently went to the 2000 "John Adams Moves In" Symposium). This is the Loo right off the China Room, under the floor of the South Portico.
ReplyDeleteThe time interval between the 1992 Symposium and the 2000 Symposium really drove home to me just how long it actually took to BUILD the White House (1792 - 1800). That's a long time - far longer than anybody would stand for today! Makes you realize how very, very different the world is today.
Totally by accident, I happened to be in Washington both on November 1, 2000 - the 200th aniversary of Adam's occupancy - (for a meeting) and also on October 13, 1992 - tht 200th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone (for the symposium).
Nov. 1, 2000 was a flawless fall day and after my meeting I walked over to the Ellipse (the Oval shaped park just south of the South Lawn of the White House) and sat down on a parkbench and looked at the South Front of the White House and tried to summon up in my minds eye what the scene must have looked like on that same day exactly 200 years ago. No South Portico, no trees on the lawn - heck - no lawn! No city to speak of surrounding the house... No cars whizzing by Totally different world.
But I love the White House and its long history with all my heart (and I know I'm not alone...) and was so glad I could be there that day to pay my own private tribute to the Old Girl.
That's spooky, John- I was in DC on those days in both those years. I especially remember 2000 because it was the last time I could have just lined up outside the WH fence for a tour. How (as a Canadian) could I ever see the inside of the "Old Girl" again??
ReplyDeleteDo they really need to give the china room and the vermiel room its own bathroom, now I know when a guys gotta go then hes gotta go, but dont you think that guy shiould be able to walk next door?
ReplyDeleteThe main restroom for Women is off the Vermeil Room; the main restroom for Men is off the Library.
ReplyDeleteOk, in that case couldnt a guy just walk across the hall?
ReplyDelete