Restroom Interior, 1912 (via Vintage Portland)

Thanks to Dan Davis who blogs at Vintage Portland, we know how glorious public toilet facilities used to be. And this is the women’s room at a time when most public restrooms served only men.

Going downstairs from yesterday's restroom entrance would have taken you to this amazing underground "comfort station." The women's room provided an attendant, tile mosaics, steam heating, and marble stall dividers. The restrooms were "restored to original" during the transit mall construction in the 1970s but vandalism forced permanent closure shortly thereafter. (University of Oregon Libraries) … Read More

via Vintage Portland

Restroom Entrance, 1912 (via Vintage Portland)

Dan Davis has a couple of great posts this week on the historic underground comfort station near Pioneer Courthouse. Dan does his homework, turning over stones and single handedly making Portland more fascinating than anyone expected.

I “like”d this post and now I find I may be able to reblog it. Lazy blogger’s road to happiness! Let’s see if it works.

Early 20th Century Portland provided a pair of underground restrooms at SW 6th and Yamhill that were almost elegant, especially by today's standards. This women's room entrance looks west, with the Portland Hotel in the background and the Pioneer Courthouse to our immediate right. A matching men's room is just around the corner on 6th. In fact these entrances, and restrooms below, still stand. Long closed, you can peek through the door cracks and … Read More

via Vintage Portland