Interesting public toilets/bathrooms
One time we went to Paris and on the Champs Elysee we found the most interesting toilets I have ever see. I can’t find any pictures now but each cubicle was an art installation in itself. The one I used was an industrial themed one with barbed wire in the seat (you didn’t have to sit on the wires).
The waiting area was a gift shop for the toilets.
Anyone else come across any interesting restrooms?
The waiting area was a gift shop for the toilets.
Anyone else come across any interesting restrooms?
Comments
The most 'atmospheric', and like the land that time forgot, that I have ever used, are the gents under one of the stands at Castleford Rugby League ground. Quite literally a breezeblock wall and a gutter at the foot. I dimly remember similar at Hartlepool Utd in the early 90s, but Castleford was just before the pandemic.
https://www.coam.org.uk/buildings/caversham
Apparently the toilets in Wesley's Chapel are pretty amazing, as were the former Gents toilets at St Pancras station.
the designers were obviously piss artists. (sorry).
Grade -1 listed no less. Though I'm reliably informed that they smell much like any other urinal....
And there's even a notice in there (there being the pub) saying that if ladies wish to view the loo, then ask the staff and it can be arranged. (But since my pal took photos I saw no need)
The facilities were clean and fairly modern (most of the buildings date from the late 40s or early 50s), but it seemed odd to this sheltered Englishman to be sharing the cubicles (IYSWIM). The urinals - past which the ladies had to go, in order to get to the cubicles - were IIRC in full view.
Preserved/heritage railways in this country often have WCs of *traditional* design, with suitable brass/copper/wood/ceramic fittings, but (I suspect) better kept than in British Railways days...
Even earlier, in 1965, I recall using a traditional pissoir in Paris...
https://www.plumbworld.co.uk/blog/pissoirs-the-history-of-public-urinals-in-paris?srsltid=AfmBOoq1VpXvKnRSDI8JX41H83TNULY4DhbwulSdUGxR-0L125a7_8Ql
(Apparently, the drawings on the walls of the loos at the Girlz' Grammer Skool were even more graphic, but, of course, I couldn't comment from personal experience...).
It didn't take long for this thread to go down the pan, did it?
The loos in the Liberal Club in Whitehall Place are beautifully Edwardian.
MMM
Let me tell you about ones in China...
The downstairs loos are also dedicated to two (appropriate?) authors, although, unfortunately, I can't remember who at the moment. The functional furnishings are rather basic, but the photos, quotes, and other notes about the authors make for an interesting visit.
Most photo links on the internet are copyright, so I don't think I can post them, but pictures can easily be found online.
I believe there are also some toilets created by Friedensreich Hundertwasser in New Zealand
Imagine my surprise when Mrs. Gramps came out of the Gents loo. She was just as surprised when I was standing at the door. She did not realize which one she had been in. You would have thought pictures of tanks above the toilet, a jerry can as a paper towel dispenser and 50s era pin ups would give a strong hint.
There was no urinal in the bathroom, though. I had to give her a mulligan on that one.
She had two beers before she had gone to the loo.
I would not let her drive after that, though.
The stand is still there as it's grade 2 and is now living accomodation. I don't think the toilets are still there
Another time, we were at a conference in a historic hill town in Sicily. Accommodation was in a former monastery, so most people got Spartan cells. We got the Pope's room. Several acres of marble and a domed ceiling - bathroom to match.
I'm quite short and sometimes can't get over high tech toilets.
😜
Maybe it has changed. Last time we went the man on the door was stopping families coming in. The pictures on the walls of the gents were definitely not suitable for children.
Not sure how that affects the decor in the toilets, though.
MMM
No probs
My aunt once told me about waiting in a toilet queue with her friend Violet, just after the war (I think) when paper was still in limited supply. The toilet attendant was giving out toilet paper, one sheet at a time, as each woman reached the front of the queue. Violet commented “You know you’ll be waiting another half hour if someone says they want six sheets,” and the attendant glared at her and said firmly “You’re only allowed two!” at which Violet and my aunt dissolved into such helpless laughter that they nearly wet themselves.
After our Masters' class first presentation, our tutors criticised our class (8 students) for being "unimaginative." We were outraged and plotted. At the next presentation one of my fellow students gave an illustrated talk on a Post-modern interpretation of the Tower Block Ladies' toilets grafitti. We rounded off our individual presentations with a bonus group presentation through the medium of interpretative dance.
Priceless!!
Slightly, well, very off topic : I used to tell my daughter about the adventures of one Armitage Shanks.
There is a scholarly work on the topic called "The Cambridge Loo Review" allegedly written by WC Rolls, publ 1998, Bog Standard Publishing. It can be found for astonishing prices on ebay, which must make our bathroom copy exceeding valuable.
There are indeed, at Kawakawa, top of the North Island of NZ. They are in the main street and open to the public - indeed they are among the main attractions of the town (there was a jazz band there too - just outside the toilets - when we visited, about 20 years ago). Again, pictures can be found online.
Back in 2009 I was touring around Georgia [the country]. We stopped at a monastery and there were some toilets over a fast-flowing stream. One of the monks said something in Georgian. "We send our shit to Russia," was the translation.
That's the one where apparently the museum celebrated it's centenary with a "well-aimed piss-up"!
The toilets on the paddle steamer "Kingswear Castle" are rather special (one on each side, by the paddle wheels), however - and I speak from experience - a certain amount of mountaineering is required to access them! https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/08/fa/26/cf/paddle-steamer-kingswear.jpg