Washington Square Park New Restrooms At $1.2 Million

June 5, 2015-I recalled an article I read in the San Francisco Chronicle dated May 27, 2015 written by John King titled "Washington Square's refined restroom." The article was stating how the City's was going about replacing old decrepit structures with new water-saving & wheelchairs accessible facilities. I wanted to give some of his quotes:

The refined rest stop sits near Filbert Street and Columbus Avenue, next to the young children's playground in the 2-acre space that's an official city landmark. That status triggered extra scrutiny. So did Washington Square's prominence within North Beach, a part of town with plenty of residents who act as though they deserve the final word in any change of any size.

"This neighborhood can be pretty conservative, so you never know what the response will be," said Paulett Taggart, the architect for the 760-square-foot, 13-foot-high structure. "But people seem to like it."...

Another domestic touch: On the backside, where a small wing of the diminutive box is a maintenance room for park employees, there's also a tiny fenced-in storage area that eventually will be hidden behind clematis vines.

"We started with wanting to work with durable industrial materials, but ones appropriate to a historic park," said Taggart, whose office is two blocks away. "It shouldn't look as if something landed here."

No chance of that happening, with the design being vetted by planners and preservation staff as well as the city's Civic Design Commission and the residential group Friends of Washington Square. The back-and-forth took more that a year, twice the length anticipated when the conceptual design was approved in the summer of 2012 by the Recreation and Park Commission...

One reason for making customized infrastructure the exception, not the rule, might be the cost. The Washington Square restrooms came in nearly 20 percent over budget at $1.2 million. And that's without the lawsuits and single-issue obstructionism that all too often is par the bay area course...

Sadly the North Beach neighborhood is changing rapidly with many new transplanted "NIMBY"-Not In My Backyard voices. My over 70 years residents membership club are losing member each day. I can still recall the Washington Square Park area was surrounded with three corner of drugstores, furniture store, ice cream parlor, hardware store, paint store, movie theater. Today only Liguria Bakery, USPS Post Office, Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store Cafe-namesake only, San Francisco Italian Athletic Club and of course St. Peter & Paul Church remained from my childhood days.

John King have written many fine articles of the City's wonderful old or new architectures finds, but I think something was amiss with this so called $1.2 million restrooms. The new front entrance...

The so-called..."On the backside, where a small wing of the diminutive box is a maintenance room for park employees,..."

This is the park employees break room, inside are several long dining bench table with a microwave  oven on another small table against the wall. Now look closely on the entranceway...

I think the door is locked with a chain?

Look more like a padded bicycle chain with a Master lock!

$1.2 million and all the years of planning...did someone forgot to design a proper door lock?