public conveniences

[Paul Clerkin]

Saw this morning, a victorian public toilet restored in Cardiff
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wa...1466-25048250/

Did they fill in the ones on o'connell street or are they still there under the paving? I seem to recall them as being pretty big but then i was a child when i was last in them...

[ac1976]

That's quite interesting, the ACA Document for O'Connell street does set out as an objective to provide public toilets on the median, but I dont think there is any intention of them being underground or preserving the existing ones.
I have never been in them were they worth preserving?

I remember the ones at Stephens Green, but these are being demolished for the Metro North.
I think they would have been a better candidate for preservation as they were overground.

[Paul Clerkin]

I cannot really remember, prob 30 years since i was in them

[tommyt]

Originally Posted by ac1976

That's quite interesting, the ACA Document for O'Connell street does set out as an objective to provide public toilets on the median, but I dont think there is any intention of them being underground or preserving the existing ones.
I have never been in them were they worth preserving?

I remember the ones at Stephens Green, but these are being demolished for the Metro North.
I think they would have been a better candidate for preservation as they were overground.

Public jackses were part of the original jcdecaux bicycle deal I thought?

The O'Connell st and College st jackses were dismal places, some mosaic tiles as far as i recall, they were the first place I ever saw anti-junkie UV lighting. The college st ones are closed 20 odd years and the OCS ones at least 10 years.

[GrahamH]

I feel one of 'those' threads coming on...

Yep tommy is correct regarding the above underground conveniences. They were modern in terms of fit-out, though there was historical precedent for the O'Connell Street ones, if not the College Street installation also. They were/are clad in what seems to be a 1980s mosaic tile.

It's strange that this thread has popped up, as only during the week while walking along the median of Upper O'Connell Street I passed one of the two black metal 'mushrooms' that protrude from the presumably surviving underground chamber. There was hot air blasting out of it! It's too far up to be Luas related, while also at a considerable remove from the access hatch for the Spire. Any ideas?

As for surviving romantic Victorian lavatories - as distinct from modern, eh, romantic lavatories - amongst the best preserved sanitary elements in Dublin are those of the lavabo in St. Saviour's Priory on Dominick Street, and the somewhat fragmented Edwardian facilities to the rear of the extraordinary interior of the former Moravian Meeting Hall on Kevin Street. The original primitive stalls in DIT Bolton Street also hold a certain, um, charm.

[missarchi]

Its all in the metro north drawings I think...

underground ESB substation might be putting out hot air...

[alonso]

Originally Posted by tommyt

Public jackses were part of the original jcdecaux bicycle deal I thought?

The O'Connell st and College st jackses were dismal places, some mosaic tiles as far as i recall, they were the first place I ever saw anti-junkie UV lighting. The college st ones are closed 20 odd years and the OCS ones at least 10 years.

Your post brings up a very interesting question. Can you have a plural of a plural? Is "jacks" plural? "Where are the jacks" you might ask. Or is it "Where is the jacks?" hmmmm.... another one for the Dublinese afficionados... "Jackses"? I dunno...

Anyway yeh I used to use these jackses meself on the way to a certain Parnell St. nitespot in the mid 90's having filled up on cans on the bus into town. Dingy as fuck they were but defo still around then. And yes I believe they were my first encounter with UV lighting, followed closely by Burger King opposite and Trinity Arts Block. Does that confer "special cultural interest" on them?

[tommyt]

Originally Posted by alonso

Your post brings up a very interesting question. Can you have a plural of a plural? Is "jacks" plural? "Where are the jacks" you might ask. Or is it "Where is the jacks?" hmmmm.... another one for the Dublinese afficionados... "Jackses"? I dunno...

Anyway yeh I used to use these jackses meself on the way to a certain Parnell St. nitespot in the mid 90's having filled up on cans on the bus into town. Dingy as fuck they were but defo still around then. And yes I believe they were my first encounter with UV lighting, followed closely by Burger King opposite and Trinity Arts Block. Does that confer "special cultural interest" on them?

Now Alonso, I am sure you occasionaly cross the threshold of some of the classier licensed establishments in our glorious capita. In those rare circumstances, and in the hope of passing yourself off as a debonair man about town,in the event one can't locate the in house conveniences- would you not enquire of the barkeep where 'the jackses' are-as opposed to the seeking the exact location of 'de bleedin' jax'.
One has to make at least a token effort to foister a vague impression on your date for the evening that one does ocassionally socialise in such sophisticated quarters where conveniences for both genders are located side by side.

Is that robojax still on Burgh Quay? any time I've been caught short in the vicinity I've lacked the correct changeto avail of its delights...

I have heard of mobile pissoirs being employed by city councils across europe on weekend nights, I would imagine they would be well used if they were wheeled out here
In sum:
Singular- Bleedin' Jacks
Plural - De jackses

[Global Citizen]

Originally Posted by alonso

.....having filled up on cans on the bus into town......

Memories.

By the way, west of the Shannon we spell such facilities as Jax.
This is to dispell any confusion with an old comfort stop in Kinnegad known as Jacks.
Which, through an elegant co incidence became known to many as Jacks Jax.
The M6 motorway has robbed all that.
Progress !

[PVC King]

I think everyone heading West had their chosen Jacquesess depending on where they went be it Moate or Longford. One of the more recent public conveniences to go was Oxford Circus which is being relocated a few streets away to New Cavendish Street; what makes it interesting is that unlike robojax this is major project with a committee of stakeholders overseeing design, mix of facilities it will also be a visitor centre for the local business improvement district and a cafe to get a rental stream to ensure the funds are there to maintain it going forward. Further details will be released early 2010 but the days of single function Jaquesess appear gone apart from portaloos at concerts!!

[LOB]

Last time I was in the toilets in O'Connell street would have been in the late 80's.
The interior was in Ceramic brick as far as I remember.

[LOB]

There used to be a below concourse toilet in Connolly Station

[GrahamH]

See, told ya where this was all headed...

This 'modified' notice was in the Hugh Lane lavs a few months ago.



Wasn't me. Honest.

It never fails to impress, no matter how much effort architects or interior designers put into assembling a space to its optimum efficiency, how the accountants, or just plain old laziness, superseed the best of intentions. As above, people have to be told on a nasty scrap of paper that the taps are motion activated, they have to be told on a sticker that the water may be hot (even though it's always stone cold in there), and already these brand new facilities have had their in-built counter soap dispensers made redundant, with cheapo plastic replacements tacked onto the mirrors because nobody can be bothered refilling the bottles underneath the sinks. The same can be said of the National Gallery toilets in the Millenium Wing, where the counter dispensers have been overridden by random bottles of handwash bought in Dunnes. Oh the aesthetics! *weeps with hand to forehead*

[SpecificGravity]

The underground toilets north of the spire in the median were reconfigured and tanked, and now house extensive electrical equipment for the street lighting and general power supply to the area. Access is via a large steel hatch on the median. Don't have pics to hand.

The toilet block on College St, beneath Thos Moore on the island, and referenced in Ulysses, are still there though not in similar use ie housing electrics. I understand the proposed Luas BX route requires local reshaping of this island, so some work might be required to the toilets.

The substations immediately north of the O'Connell monument are due for relocation as part of Metro North, as the station box will fill the area between the quays and Abbey St.

[LOB]

This thread prompted me to seek out a book I've not looked at in years.
Lucinda Lambton's Temples of Convenience, worth a look if you can get your hands on a copy.

How about a bar?
http://www.traveljournals.net/pictures/76230.html

[publicrealm]

Originally Posted by GrahamH

See, told ya where this was all headed...

This 'modified' notice was in the Hugh Lane lavs a few months ago.



Wasn't me. Honest.

It never fails to impress, no matter how much effort architects or interior designers put into assembling a space to its optimum efficiency, how the accountants, or just plain old laziness, superseed the best of intentions. As above, people have to be told on a nasty scrap of paper that the taps are motion activated, they have to be told on a sticker that the water may be hot (even though it's always stone cold in there), and already these brand new facilities have had their in-built counter soap dispensers made redundant, with cheapo plastic replacements tacked onto the mirrors because nobody can be bothered refilling the bottles underneath the sinks. The same can be said of the National Gallery toilets in the Millenium Wing, where the counter dispensers have been overridden by random bottles of handwash bought in Dunnes. Oh the aesthetics! *weeps with hand to forehead*

Is it OK to take photos in public toilets again .. (just asking) ? Can you use flash?