42nd Street & Fifth Avenue

It’s sometimes hard to find a little peace and quiet at this place, the irony of which is astounding. No doubt due to its (ill-founded) repute as the best place in the area for the toilet, we found it difficult even to take a photograph there owing to the high volume of traffic. To be fair, however, it was a Saturday. The restroom of course resides in a beautiful building, an architectural landmark, and we give kudos to the original designers of the restroom, where we see their intentions laid before us in the classical white marble motif.

Where this location fails perhaps is in the restoration, like a potentially attractive older woman who refuses to spruce herself up, because rather than emitting a stately and refined appearance, the restroom rather feels like it needs some refurbishing. Not technically dirty, it nonetheless feels tired and old, and thus is not very welcoming. The urinals in the men’s room were leaking and only saved by the fact that they had high partitions. Then there was the oddity of one lone stall, a seeming afterthought, separated from the row of several other stalls on the other side of the sinks; you could practically hear the designer saying “wait, you wanted six, not five?” The sinks themselves are provided for in a very narrow space, as if someone were about to shake this box of bookworms to see if they will fight for territory when agitated.

Rating: 5.5

Bookmark and Share