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Bathrooms of Boston: Behind the Hard-to-Find, Poorly-Marked, Graffiti-Covered Curtain

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Toronto-based photographer visits Boston to survey city's toilets, documenting many of our most (frequently) visited dining destinations.

Meadhall
Meadhall
Dan Schaumann/Toilography

Perhaps because the old buildings and general space squeeze in Boston restaurants makes simply finding the restroom more of a relief (sorry) than anything, or simply because "Hey, let me tell all of you who are eating what I just saw in the commode..." is such a terrible way to start a sentence, the truth is that the toilet situation in most restaurants is something you only generally hear about if something has gone terribly wrong.

A situation Dan Schaumann has set out to correct. Having traveled the world documenting various toilet and toilet-related destinations on his website Toilography, the Toronto-based toilographer recently visited Boston, where he told a BDC reporter, "About a third of my time in Boston was devoted to checking out the toilets suggested by everyone on Reddit. It was a great way to see parts of the city I wouldn't normally have seen, and I made a point of chatting to some locals and having a drink or a bite to eat at each of the venues I visited."

Among the highlights now posted on the site are the beer list at Meadhall, the doorless stall at The Silhouette Lounge, the view of Fenway from The Bleacher Bar, Far Side cartoons at The Salty Pig, various schools of graffiti art at Shay's, Tasty Burger, the Model Café, The Beehive, and Delux, as well as "the most beautiful basin [he's] seen in a long time," located at Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar.

Another trip to the city and more documentation could follow, as one comment on Reddit suggested a trip back to the area, if nothing more than for Schaumann to visit the Plumbing Museum in Lowell. Or, the curated MFA to his more installation-based ICA.

Tasty Burger (Harvard Square)

40 JFK St, Cambridge, MA 02138 617 425 4444

Silhouette Lounge

200 Brighton Avenue, , MA 02134 (617) 206-4565 Visit Website

The Salty Pig

130 Dartmouth Street, , MA 02116 (617) 536-6200 Visit Website

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