The Birth of Modern Public Bathrooms

Guest Blog by John Tarr

I remember as a kid traveling with my parents on a stretch of 300 miles of a road from Detroit to Chicago regularly in 1961. Our family lived in a suburb of Detroit called Royal Oak and my dad was transferring as an insurance salesman to the Chicago area. To make the transition easier for the family my dad would work 4 days a week in our new town of Waukegan just north of Chicago and then travel a half day on Friday and half day on Monday back and forth. We would sometimes accompany him on these road trips.

These trips would take 5-6 hours depending on the traffic. Remember this was not a two-lane freeway in those days. They would not build interstate Freeways until a few years later. These roads would become very frustrating because if you found yourself behind a much slower car the line of cars would stretch for a quarter of a mile or more. Trying to pass was a dangerous adventure.

We were always on the lookout for signs advertising upcoming gas stations and then beg dad about stopping. It meant getting gas, treats and a chance to use a public restroom. I remember these bathrooms were always spotless because the reputation of the individual gas station owner was at stake. There would be a few rest areas along the way, but they were never as clean. In that way not much has changed in the last 60 years.

The Birth of Modern Public Bathrooms

I know there were public washrooms before the traveling public used their cars to crisscross this great nation of ours in the 1950’s. Many of these toilet facilities were located at bus stops and railroad stations, but the modern public restrooms came in to its own with the Highway system.

I think as gas stations populated along the highway road system they would compete with each for customers on how modern, clean and safe these short stops were at their station. Texaco 1958 Advertising. Dinners and other attractions would spring up around these islands that gave you a chance to stretch your legs. The washroom was truly a restroom at that point.

You can read an interesting article on Little Known Facts About America’s Highway System.

Trying to keep public washrooms modern, up-to-date and clean has always been a lot of thankless work for many companies and institutions. Most the time people do not realize that washrooms are a “thing” until they run into one that is very dirty, has run out of toilet paper, or is having a major problem with one of its units. This is where we come in.

The Birth of Modern Public Bathrooms

JaniWrap is committed to making public washroom presentable even when there is an issue with one of the urinals or toilets. Just because one of these units go down does not mean the whole facility needs to look shabby or bad. Our temporary covers bring the whole facility back to “looking good” until the needed repairs can be accomplished.

We also make Out Of Order Not In Service Signs and Social Distancing Labels.

This guest blog is by John Tarr, a website designer and blog writer. You can find him here at Best Website Solutions.