Thomas F. Harney

[SSlater]

Too often we guess at answers, that have eluded us, or select convenient answers and move on. I'm trying to find "the real answer" or keep looking .
Let's drop back and think about a "6' - 0" diameter sewer pipe into the White House. NO WAY!
A 6' -0" diam. pipe drains Dulles Airport. I know because I was for a time the Resident Engineer for Construction of Dulles. That line drains to a Sewage Treatment plant in Washington.
The White House was built in 1790 and opened for business in 1800. (Burned in 1814, got running water in1833, got hot water in 1853.) At first, sewage must have been carried out and dumped in a pit. They might have used a system like the Old Romans had, where there was a "Tunnel System", where waste dropped into the Tunnel and was cleaned out by slaves. Unfortunately, they worked in a crouched position - maybe 4' - 0" clearance. That would have to have been built during original construction, (and abandoned by 1860. ) (PS 1, there are 32 bathrooms, plus the kitchen facilities, in the White House today.)
(PS 2 At first, Dulles had "Settling Ponds" for waste water, but that attracted DUCKS, lots of them. So many, that Airplanes could not use the runways. The 6'-0" pipe HAD to be Built.)
I am trying to find a Quote that I read somewhere, that the entrance was through a "Greenhouse". Any other ideas?