Pike Pub

Pike Pub in Seattle 

A speakeasy vibe, harking to the wild side of Seattle. 

The brewery is located in a high traffic tourist district that must attract a lot of non-patrons - not that there is any camera (I think) or an actual person checking breath or IDs to get into the facilities. I find it hard to believe that it attracts a lot of non-paying customers. The place was devilishly hard to find. Once inside, there is an dizzying array of travel and beer related graphics. 

Keeping your audience in mind

This restroom at the Science Museum in Minnesota was designed for both the minds and bodies of children.

The museum is located on the banks of the Mississippi, and a good bit of the museum focuses on the environment. Consequently, the mural across from the sinks depicts the path that water takes from the river and back to the river as we use it every day. I probably spend way too much checking out restrooms, and cool graphics like this one don't help matters.

The bottom image shows a stepstool for little ones to wash their hands. Much like the ones they might have at home. 

Just so you don't forget where you are.

You don't normally think too much about the color of stalls in a public restroom. Sometimes, I guess it just goes with the branding of the company - like McDonalds or Target, or a university. 

In this case, these fire engine red stalls can be found in a firefighters museum in the Twin Cities. 

Hurry this way!

Signs that communicate well should transcend time, cultures, ages. If they can make you smile in the process, so much the better.

This signage came from the Minnesota Children's Museum. They indicate the gender and direction without words, for little non-readers. The lettering on the figures themselves are rendered in very poor contrast, so I tweaked one image a bit so the words are a bit more clear. Across each shape are various words in several languages that indicate 'restroom,' including powder room, tinkletorium, w.c., potty, and washroom. 

I do not take exception to the larger male figure. It probably worked better for design purposes. Also one could argue that he is missing his pants.

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Unisex sinks

This is a perfectly lovely and ordinary looking pair of sinks. What I couldn't show you easily is that they are located outside the two sets of toilets at this brew pub in Kansas City. There isn't any reason that men and women can't share the same set of sinks to wash their hands, is there? 

And that is a cool-looking dispenser on the right!

Just humor us

Most of my posts focus on finding humor or flights of fancy in public restrooms. Usually I go for the visual, not the literal. However, sometimes it is right there in front of you.

This was a sign outside the restrooms of the Bottle Rocket Brewery in Seward, NE.

Family time

We found this important unmistakable sign at Pike Place Market in Seattle. It is placed a bit high so that it can be seen from a distance but you might miss it if you were too close.

What a story this can tell!

Don't let anyone tell you that pictograph signs like these are soulless and impersonal

'Tis

 

Like last week's post, these restroom signs hail from a restaurant near the harbor in Halifax. 

The sharp-eyed might conclude that it is, indeed, from an Irish pub. 

I had headed downstairs to find the restroom and came back with that look in my eye. Each image is labeled appropriately in brass with the Irish word for Ladies 'Mna' and Men 'Fir '

Robert and I are pretty sure the pub was Durty Nelly's. If so, this pub was actually constructed completely in Dublin and then transported and assembled in Halifax for that 'authentic' feel. Though the truth be told, the most actual Irish pubs are a heck of a lot darker, smaller and older than this one. A lovely experience, though. 

Get the picture

These sweet signs were mounted outside the respective restrooms in a seafood restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I would be interested to know the story behind them. The mermaid and seaman are each posed on the same rock, same cloud, same bird.
As usual, I had to snap these quickly, to avoid startling some poor soul trying to exit.