Interesting public toilets/bathrooms

HugalHugal Shipmate
edited August 2024 in Heaven
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?
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Comments

  • The Gents in the Princess Louise on Holborn are pretty special.

    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.
  • Not strictly public toilets these days - but of interest.

    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.
  • la vie en rougela vie en rouge Purgatory Host, Circus Host
    If ever you find yourself inside a very fancy pants 5 star hotel, you should always check out the toilets. My friend and I once went for drinks at the Ritz, and the ladies' room is quite the exercise in bling and luxury.
  • SparrowSparrow Shipmate
    My partner tells me that the gents' toilets in the Philharmonic pub in Liverpool are wonderful.
  • Hugal wrote: »
    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 designers were obviously piss artists. (sorry).
  • kingsfoldkingsfold Shipmate
    edited August 2024
    Sparrow wrote: »
    My partner tells me that the gents' toilets in the Philharmonic pub in Liverpool are wonderful.

    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)
  • Haven’t been since the 1990s but the ladies loos at the Wallace Collection had beautiful old blue tiles on the walls, presumably Delft. The prettiness of the walls almost made up for the fact that the wooden cubicle doors had some disconcertingly large frosted windows! (I’ve just seen a review of the toilets which suggests the tiles are still there but they have replaced the doors).
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited August 2024
    I first visited Bruxelles/Brussel in 1973, and was slightly discombobulated by finding that the loos at the Midi/Zuid (South) Station were unisex - not something found very often in the UK at that time...

    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
  • HugalHugal Shipmate
    There is a restaurant in Covenant Garden called Sarrastro’s. It is an Opera restaurant, based on the palace of the character in The Magic Flute. You have to be sixteen to get in. When you use the loos the figures drawn on the wall leave you in no doubt why.
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited August 2024
    I wonder if they're akin to the drawings on the bog walls at my Grammer Skool?
    :naughty:

    (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...).
    :innocent:

    It didn't take long for this thread to go down the pan, did it?
  • MMMMMM Shipmate
    Was at Sarastro on Sunday evening, Hugal, and several children were there that looked to be under 16. I’ve certainly never heard of that rule before.

    The loos in the Liberal Club in Whitehall Place are beautifully Edwardian.

    MMM
  • I went to Radio City Music Hall when I was a young teen, and I remember being very impressed by the size and opulence of their ladies room.
  • The women's restroom at the top of the Fairmont Hotel has a great view of Grace Catheral, which often has a lighting display on view. On a tour including the Roman toilets in Turkey, with marble seats along a long wooden bench shared by many for visiting in the mornings, we were told that slaves were sent down first to warm the seats.
  • My grandson was very impressed by the Roman loos at Fishbourne villa/palace, Sussex. Not sure they qualify, or ever qualified, as public, though.
  • RockyRogerRockyRoger Shipmate
    edited August 2024
    Hmmm .... this is calling for another thread .... in another place ... about the Worst Loos we have had the pleasure of using. Those in student accomodation and Portaloos of course would have to be excluded as they are universally awful. Unless of course you know better!
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    RockyRoger wrote: »
    Hmmm .... this is calling for another thread .... in another place ... about the Worst Loos we have had the pleasure of using. Those in student accomodation and Portaloos of course would have to be excluded as they are universally awful. Unless of course you know better!

    Let me tell you about ones in China...
  • carexcarex Shipmate
    The Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport, Oregon, caters to book lovers, with each room named (and appropriately decorated) for a famous author. It also has a library and reading room (with fireplace and ocean view), and no internet.

    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.
  • The Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna is pretty spectacular, and although the apartment block is not open to tourists the toilets in the associated Village are pretty memorable art installations in their own right.
    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
  • We lunched with friends at the pretentious Charcoal Steakhouse last week - not my kind of place at all. The place is extremely modern and spotless, and the gents bogs fit right in. However, on the wall to the right of the urinals is a large TV screen that you have to swivel round 90° if you want to watch it. Er... This is not a good idea.
  • Yesterday, wife and I ate at a restaurant in Northern Idaho. After we both ate, we had to go to the water closet. She was a little ahead of me. There was a ladies loo and a gentleman's loo. When I got to the door for the gents, it was locked. I waited.
    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.
  • TelfordTelford Shipmate
    About 20 years ago, I had a trip down to London to see the progress at the new Arsenal stadium and visit the old Highbury Stadium about a mile away which I had never visited. On the outside of the iconic main stand (East stand) I saw the entrance to toilets which were open to the public. It was a fairly large and very clean area. I made use of the facility and can now say that I had been inside Highbury Stadium.

    The stand is still there as it's grade 2 and is now living accomodation. I don't think the toilets are still there
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    In France once we stayed in a B&B that had once been the home of the Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne. I fancy we had his room - it's certainly the only time I've had a bathroom with a chandelier.

    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.
  • BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
    My friend has just returned from Japan and couldn’t get over their high tech toilets!
  • Boogie wrote: »
    My friend has just returned from Japan and couldn’t get over their high tech toilets!

    I'm quite short and sometimes can't get over high tech toilets.
  • BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
    RockyRoger wrote: »
    Boogie wrote: »
    My friend has just returned from Japan and couldn’t get over their high tech toilets!

    I'm quite short and sometimes can't get over high tech toilets.

    😜

  • The public toilets on the Hayes in Cardiff used to be splendid. - brass handrails on the steps down, brass coin slots and locks on the doors, heavy wooden doors to the cubicles and fresh flowers above the sink. There was a full time attendant who had her own office.
  • HugalHugal Shipmate
    MMM wrote: »
    Was at Sarastro on Sunday evening, Hugal, and several children were there that looked to be under 16. I’ve certainly never heard of that rule before.

    The loos in the Liberal Club in Whitehall Place are beautifully Edwardian.

    MMM

    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.
  • HugalHugal Shipmate
    I’m the gents at Barton Grange garden centre, the urinals are shaped like different flowers.
  • HugalHugal Shipmate
    edited August 2024
    I believe there are other places that have them.
  • MMMMMM Shipmate
    I owe you an apology, Hugal. Macarius tells me that the Sarastro website limits entry to over 16s on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.

    Not sure how that affects the decor in the toilets, though.

    MMM
  • HugalHugal Shipmate
    MMM wrote: »
    I owe you an apology, Hugal. Macarius tells me that the Sarastro website limits entry to over 16s on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.

    Not sure how that affects the decor in the toilets, though.

    MMM

    No probs
  • AravisAravis Shipmate
    I remember the old days of the Hayes toilets in Cardiff, Priscilla! I was also fascinated by the glass bricks set into the pavement above them. Toilet attendants were fairly rare by the early 1970s and this was one of the few places you could still see them.

    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.
  • North East QuineNorth East Quine Purgatory Host
    The ladies' toilets in the basement of the Tower Building of Dundee University had excellent grafitti. Someone would write a problem, and others would write encouraging messages underneath. It was all very positive.

    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.

  • HarryCHHarryCH Shipmate
    This reminds me of a (possibly apocryphal) sequence of graffiti, perhaps in a middle-school: "I hate grils." "You mean girls, stupid." "Okay, I hate girls." "What about us grils?"
  • I may have told this before, but anyway... Driving along a highway in New York State many years ago we passed the exit for Arsenal Street in Watertown, I think it was. I asked the girls - quite young at the time - if they knew what an arsenal was. "Is that something like a urinal?" quoth elder daughter.
  • I may have told this before, but anyway... Driving along a highway in New York State many years ago we passed the exit for Arsenal Street in Watertown, I think it was. I asked the girls - quite young at the time - if they knew what an arsenal was. "Is that something like a urinal?" quoth elder daughter.

    Priceless!!
    Slightly, well, very off topic : I used to tell my daughter about the adventures of one Armitage Shanks.
  • I'm impressed that anyone in the USA knew how to spell 'arse'.
  • In my 20's when I was out and about I thought of writing a book called Dear John, in which I reviewed public toilets in the city. Never did it.
  • Or you could have called it Dear Lou.
  • HarryCHHarryCH Shipmate
    What a lavly idea.
  • If it pulls your chain ....
  • In my 20's when I was out and about I thought of writing a book called Dear John, in which I reviewed public toilets in the city. Never did it.

    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.
  • MaramaMarama Shipmate
    The Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna is pretty spectacular, and although the apartment block is not open to tourists the toilets in the associated Village are pretty memorable art installations in their own right.
    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

    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.
  • ClimacusClimacus Shipmate
    I was looking for an old thread and this one caught my eye...

    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.
  • cgichardcgichard Shipmate
    In 1945 when housingwas very scarce, my mother rented a cottage :"halfway up a mountain" in mid-Wales, sight unseen, in response to an advertisement in The Lady magazine: it boasted "water-borne sanitaion" and was indeed a hut over a stream - with a wonderful view.
  • DardaDarda Shipmate
    The gents in Tobermory's Western Isles Hotel has rather nice period blue and white tiling.
  • DardaDarda Shipmate
    I have also used the "World Famous Shark Toilet" in Balquhidder, Scotland
  • There's this one at the Chiltern Openair Museum: https://www.coam.org.uk/buildings/caversham
  • There's this one at the Chiltern Openair Museum: https://www.coam.org.uk/buildings/caversham

    That's the one where apparently the museum celebrated it's centenary with a "well-aimed piss-up"!
  • Baptist TrainfanBaptist Trainfan Shipmate
    edited March 10
    Makes sense! Clochemerle rules OK!

    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
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