The Facilities

I joined C.R.O.W.’s 16th of December walk. We examined some of central Belfast’s public toilets. It brought us all places we had never been before. I had never even been aware of the City Council maintained toilets on Church Lane. One detail I liked there was the kid’s area where everything was at a lower height. It might be more fun for the youngsters if the council resisted the urge to put a sign on it, declaring what it is. In my experience kid’s eyes are automatically drawn to what is compatible to them. Perhaps they should be left to discover the kid’s area.


Church Lane, child's area


City Hall cubicle

I thought the most beautiful toilets were those in City Hall, a theme of semi-circularity, burgundy and patterned tiles. No fussy signage.

The space-age toilet, 20p a visit, outside the Dublin Road Moviehouse cinema is high-tech capsule. A recorded voice tells explains the experience to you as you are having it. The toilet has pressure sensitive floor. The door will not close if there is more than one person inside.



During the day, it rests

We finished the tour at this mysterious manhole Shaftsbury Square. A manhole is exactly what it is, though of a different sort. During the busiest drinking hours of Friday and Saturday night it rises, revealing a men-only open urinal.

Spend a consistent few hours comparing toilets, or perhaps any other thing, and a sense of mild connoisseurship can develop in you. By the end of the walk I thought I had developed a bit of an eye for loos.