Western Centennial Comfort Station from SW

The Centennial comfort stations are two brick buildings in Philadelphia's

Fairmount Park Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in Philadelphia and the historic name for a group of parks located throughout the city. Fairmount Park consists of two park sections named East Park and West Park, divided by the Schuylkill River, w ...

originally built for the 1876

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition, officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876. It was the first official wo ...

. They were located south of the now-demolished Horticulture Building and used as public toilets.

History

The two buildings are perhaps the only extant restrooms from a nineteenth century international exposition. They were constructed of brick with wooden elements, slate roofs and copper detailing. Each is about by and one story tall. Seven public comfort stations were built for the exposition, among over 200 other buildings. Only four Centennial buildings survive on their original sites:

Memorial Hall A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''. History of the Memorial Hall In the aft ...

, the Ohio State Building, and the two comfort stations. The Horticulture Building was one of the few buildings at the exposition intended to be permanent, and the comfort houses were likely built of brick so that they could continue to serve the Horticulture Building. When the Horticulture Building was destroyed in 1955, they were used as storage space and greatly deteriorated. A new Horticulture Center was constructed for the 1976

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memo ...

immediately north of the comfort stations. Renovation of the stations began in 2011 for use by the Shofuso Japanese House and Gardens, the eastern station as an exhibition space, and the western as a restroom. The eastern station renovation has been completed, while the western station is still in use as storage space. During renovation, before 2016, the buildings were served by a port-a-potty. The comfort stations are located within the 1972 Fairmount Park

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

listing on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, but are not included among the 43 buildings in its inventory of historic buildings. Western Centennial Comfort Station from S.jpg, Western station from the south Eastern Centennial Comfort Station from SW.jpg, Eastern station from the southwest Eastern Centennial Comfort Station from E.jpg, Eastern station from the east Centennial Port-a-potty.jpg, Construction site in 2015. Port-a-potty has since been removed. Eastern Centennial Comfort Station Interior south wall.jpg, Interior south wall of the renovated eastern station Western Centennial Comfort Station ceiling.jpg, Roof interior in the western station Western Centennial Comfort Station floor.jpg, Floor in the western station, possibly showing wall footings and plumbing remnants

History

References

Further reading