Bryant Park restroom
| Bryant Park restroom | |
|---|---|
Bryant Park restroom in 2024 | |
Interactive map of the Bryant Park restroom area | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Beaux-Arts |
| Location | Bryant Park, Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°45′14″N 73°58′57″W / 40.753889°N 73.9825°W |
| Opened | 1911 |
| Renovated | 1990s, 2006, 2017 |
| Closed | 1960s-1990s |
| Renovation cost | $200,000 (2006) $280,000 (2017) |
| Technical details | |
| Size | 315-square-foot (29.3 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Carrère and Hastings |
| Renovating team | |
| Renovating firm | Kupiec & Koutsomitis (1990s) |
Bryant Park restroom | |
| Part of | New York Public Library and Bryant Park (ID66000547) |
| Designated CP | October 15, 1966 |
The Bryant Park restroom is a public toilet in Bryant Park, an urban park in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The 315-square-foot (29.3 m2) structure was built at the same time as the New York Public Library Main Branch and designed by the same architects, John Merven Carrere and Thomas Hastings. The building, which sits on the park's border with 42nd Street, is a Beaux-Arts design. It opened in 1911 and closed in the 1960s as the surrounding park deteriorated. After decades of disuse, the facility was restored in the 1990s as part of a broader park revitalization, and underwent further renovations in 2006 and 2017, with interiors modeled after luxury hotel bathrooms.
Featuring fresh flowers, automatic toilets, original artwork, classical music, and an attendant, the facility is often regarded as among the best public bathrooms in the city. It was recognized by Cintas as one of America's Best Restrooms in both 2011 and 2018, and was ranked the best public restroom in the world by travel website VirtualTourist in 2011. About a million people use the toilet every year.