Saturday 16 March 2013

Abandoned Victorian toilets turned into London café


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Abandoned Victorian Toilets Turned Into London Café

Top marks to the chaps in this latest article, who are behind the conversion of these disused Victorian toilets in London's West End.   Now instead of remaining an unused and unseen relic of the past, this classic example of a 19th century public convenience has found a new lease of life as a coffee shop and sandwich bar!

In well-executed style the derelict underground gents looks to have been successfully transformed (and thoroughly cleaned up!) into an eatery with a twist.  It is splendid to see, too, that the new owners fully appreciated the existing high-quality fittings & decor that were still in place (I've written before about the Victorians' propensity for embellishing even the most humdrum of structures, and here's another prime example) and have ingeniously incorporated it into the café's layout.  (I'll leave you to make up your own jokes about drinking at a urinal!).



Pictures of the renovation are most interesting and the new owners are to be congratulated on what looks like a job well done.  I'm sure The Attendant, as the place is now known, will prove to be once again to be a valuable asset to the Fitzrovia area - albeit in a completely different form.  I wish them every success and will be sure to stop in should I find myself in the W1 postal district.

4 comments:

  1. Fantastic idea!
    Here in the 'States the only place I knew that had these closed them and concreted the entries to make parking places. What a waste as now they could be unique businesses even if they were not turned not cafe.

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  2. I think I've noticed this toilet in wanderings around Fitzrovia - it's a great idea to turn it into a cafe! There's also the Cellar Door at 'Zero Aldwych', which is a cabaret club. Fabulous but it doesn't make so much use of historic fittings in the same way this does.

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  3. I think it's a great idea to reuse these old buildings.

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  4. LOVE this! What a great transformation :)

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