“Interestingly, ornate lounges for women preceded public restrooms by several decades,”
“Interestingly, ornate lounges for women preceded public restrooms by several decades,” Kogan explained, noting that there were parlors for women in public buildings many years prior to when most of America had indoor plumbing. In other words, gender separation and protecting women’s virtue was initially the justification for these spaces, and the toilet came later.
The Tremont House was also the first major building in America to have indoor plumbing, with a bank of eight water closets on the main-floor hallway, each designed for a single user. Rogers felt no need to designate them by gender, because like the outhouses they were based on, they were single-user only.
In the 20th century, with more women entering the workforce during World Wars I and II, the rationale behind the lounges and the function shifted somewhat. Women were now in public more, but they still might want somewhere to relax, take a smoking break, or put on makeup—which was now mainstream after being stigmatized. It was not acceptable, however, for women to apply makeup in public.
