The Portland Loo

“I’m convinced Portland is the only city in the U.S., and maybe the world, that celebrates the opening of bathrooms.”
08/29/2012

Published in Los Angeles Times

\”The freestanding restroom is durable and designed well to integrate into most environments.\”

03/23/2021

“For the residents of Portland, Ore., taking a whiz in a public toilet is not just a matter of necessity. It’s an act of civic pride.
That’s because the city is home to the Portland Loo, a unique, patented outdoor bathroom that inspires such worship in its fanbase you’d think that Steve Jobs himself had designed it.”
01/23/2012

Read the full article here

They’re made of “highly durable” heavy-gauge stainless steel wall panels with an anti-graffiti coating and open louvers at the bottom and top to permit public safety officials to determine how many people are inside “while still providing privacy to patrons.”

“This is a basic human need. It’s something that everybody needs. Yes, we have people that have a higher need because people are unhoused, or because people have particular conditions. But this is something that benefits everybody, that makes our public spaces more humane, and something that I think that we need to adopt,” Rodriguez-Sanchez said.

Read the full article here

The Portland Loo, a stand-alone public toilet used in numerous states, is an example of “crime prevention through environmental design” and hostile architecture. Law enforcement input was sought in its development, and it shows.