“Was there a bathroom?”
Went back to find my WH pass from last Fall. It says restrooms are located at the Ellipse Visitor Pavilion, on the S side of the WH. Opposite end of WH from visitors’ exit. I can see that having restrooms IN the WH for the public would be a security concern. The whole set up for tourists changed after OK City, then again after 9/11.
The restroom(s) they’re talking about in this story are not in the White House itself, but next door in the EOB where most working offices are located. And you’d have to be invited to a meeting there, passed security, etc. to get into that bldg as well.
The day we visited (18 years ago) we had left Richmond in the morning and drove straight thru in time to make it to the last tour of the day. In those days you didn’t have to have a reservation. You just showed up and bought a ticket at a kiosk outside the vistors’ entrance.
Once inside there was no way to leave and no bathroom facilities. I’m afraid my daughter was miserable, as she was in late pregancy at the time. We were glad that the tour was quick and we were able to escape to Lafayette Park.