So, I am walking by the IMAX movie theatre, part of the Aquarium, on the waterfront in Boston and I see this circular, pod like structure. I’m too far away to see “City Toilet” above the door. What I do see is a young woman, jeans, jacket, long scarf wrapped around her neck, flush against this structure with her arms spread wide like she was hugging it.
Her husband or boyfriend laughs with their other friends, all of whom are speaking French. She moves away from the structure and I see the man with the red “briefs” and that it says “City Toilet”.
The woman continued to roll her eyes and look back at her new love as they all laughed and walked off in the direction of Quincy Market, a well known stop for visitors to Boston.
I stood there and looked at the structure. Ok. I didn’t know there were public facilities in Boston at all. We are not Paris or Amsterdam or even San Francisco.
But, after resolving to Google when I got home when exactly Boston brushed aside its prudish ways and acknowledged human nature (2001 as it turns out), I really just kept looking at the model in his red briefs myself. I stood there for a long time. I won’t lie. I smiled and imagined this silver haired woman with a big camera hanging around her neck, flush up against the City Toilet, arms stretched out. If the Police came for me, I’d say, “I am gauging the correct f stop, officer.”
“I bet you are Gramma, let’s go”, he’d say and gently peel me from the structure.
I fought the urge to welcome briefs man to Boston (this particular pod was only installed last May) and took this picture instead. If someone has a better looking City Toilet photograph than this, I want to see it. I’ve got to win the award on this one, don’t you think? There were better manhole covers, top drawers, inside your refrigerator photos and more creative spins on paper bags, BUT, seriously, have you ever seen a better looking City Toilet in your life?
©Pat Coakley 2008
PHOTOGRAPHS CANNOT BE USED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION
You just crack me up.
That is the un-skeeviest, while still being the skivvy-est toilet I have ever seen and would blindly sit down without a sani-wipe.
How you must have laughed when the heading appeared. Now think about where this would have made the rounds had it not been for your blog.
Just another reason why you always leave the house with camera in bag.
I’ve had smaller apartments !
daaaaaaaaaam! I think I’ll right click on this and paste it on my own bathroom door at home. hehe. srsly, can I?
That is pretty dang good I must say. It might even tempt me into using it… but I would still be forced to do the balancing squat thing while holding my purse in my teeth careful not to touch anything!
I shall deny staring and then staring some more at that there photo of yours, deny deny deny! Have you seen the public toilet that has one way glass? I think I’d get stage fright even knowing that no one can see me!!!
Ah, BL, leave it to you to grace this post with with skeevy and skivvy..a brilliant little touch!
Nkgee, Hilarious,you. But, you always decorated postage stamps nicely, I thought!
Sweetisgirlz, right click away, sister. Older women need to share with the young’ns.
Amber: No kidding. I would not be able to use this one regardless of balancing skills. I’d be too scared I’d be locked in there permanently! I’ve read stories of them malfunctioning and just at the wrong moment the doors suddenly open!!
Sanity, I have not seen them only heard of them. Now, if I have problems with the “regular” ones, Just imagine the issues with an IMAX view!! Plus, these things make money with advertisements (7 million to the company that made the Boston ones according to a news article) so I don’t think one way glass is going to be very popular from a business standpoint. I’ve read an article about this sort of thing being used in restaurants and nightclubs and for the life of me, I can’t figure out the appeal.
Ok. I have no idea how many times I’ve walked by that exact spot down by the harbor and I have NEVER noticed that there was a public toilet there. How is that possible? I do have a few “secret” potty stops that I know of down that way (One is actually at Faneuil Hall! It’s always empty and spotless!)
You wanted a better public lavatory that this one? Here you go! Never seen it in person, but I’d love to! How many public bathrooms can you say that about?
-Turkish Prawn
Okay, Turkish, you are amazing. The one public lavatory that competes with Briefs man!! I didn’t think they’d be any takers on this challenge! This was done by an artist, i think, and it has not stopped with her! It is now an option which I can’t believe. Granted it looks aesthetic from outside but inside I’d be having the heebie jeebies!! Oh, no! No way.
For some reason, the link in my above comment isn’t underlined and therefore others might have missed it. Just click on the “Here you go!” bit of the post for the link. Odd.
-TP
I would totally take a crap in a toilet with one-way glass. Very noir . . .
Um..Tysdaddy? Thank you for sharing that artful noir personal!
Mon Dieu! “Vive la France!”
S. Le: When last in Paris…oh, when Reagan fired all the air traffic controllers…1981 or so, the public lavs were for men only, I think. And, you’d see the occupants heads looking around while doing their business. The structure was a cylinder which only came up to shoulder level! Hilarious.