Way to Go, SF

The new $200,000 toilet in Noe Valley (Chron)

This is not exclusively a "dump on San Francisco" journal, though with so much material it's difficult to keep such posts down to, say, one a week. We didn't remark on the $1.7 million public toilet proposed in 2022, because there was little to add to all the derisive worldwide coverage.

The original plans were withdrawn, the project was scaled down, and the toilet is now operational for a mere $200,000.

The San Francisco toilet that made international news when a Chronicle column revealed its $1.7 million price tag, opened quietly on Monday morning, after installation and an inspection were completed.

The bathroom, which ultimately cost the city about 12% of the original estimate, is tasteful if underwhelming, with cinder block walls painted orange-red, standing sentry near the northeast entrance of the well-used public plaza where it now resides. With the loo open for business, Noe residents have gained two things: a place to go and San Francisco’s newest landmark, arguably the most famous toilet in the city’s history...

The cinder block walls’ fiery shade matches the chairs and playground slide in the plaza. There’s a sloped roof of corrugated metal and some light landscaping, small jasmine bushes next to a black trellis on either side of the bathroom’s exterior...

Inside the tight 50-square-foot bathroom there’s little to see except a single metal toilet, two metal railings and a fixture that fits three standard size rolls of toilet paper. (Will that even be enough to last the morning?) In true San Francisco fashion, something already appears broken: the hand sanitizer dispenser. “We apologize for any inconvenience, and we are working on the issue,” a Rec & Parks sign reads. (A sink and soap dispenser on the outside wall were in full operation.)

The late Herb Caen used to call San Francisco the "City that knows how." Perhaps one day it can earn back that title.