Facility is a new print magazine about bathrooms. The first issue, published last year, contains articles about the the architecture, politics, and culture of restrooms. One feature in the magazine is also available online: a a list of bathroom codes for restrooms at various cafes, stores, and restaurants. Most of the codes are for New York City restrooms because, the editors write, that's where they "live and piss" but the list will grow as readers contribute. Here are a few from their list:
BROOKLYN
Starbucks at North Seventh Street and Bedford Avenue: 22222
Sweetgreen at North Fourth Street and Bedford Avenue: 1284
MANHATTAN
Downtown to uptown:
Shake Shack at Broadway and Fulton Street: 6063
Pret A Manger at Broadway and Cortland: 3535
Tompkins Square Bagels on 10th Street and Avenue A: 4552
Bloomingdale’s Outlet at 72nd and Broadway: push 2 & 4 at same time, then 3
OAKLAND
Blue Bottle on Ninth and Broadway: 1478#
SEATTLE
Areis Building at 2366 Eastlake Ave East: 01230STUDIO CITY
Peet’s Coffee & Tea at 1225 Ventura Blvd between Laurelgrove and Vantage Aves: 4516*
From a recent Eater interview with Facility co-founder/editor Erin Sheehy:
Eater: What inspired you to start Facility?
Erin Sheehy: At some point we realized that bathrooms were an interesting way to frame a lot of the subjects that we care about, including public space, cities, gender, queer histories, and the seemingly mundane but endlessly fascinating details of people’s daily lives. (Plus I, for one, love to talk about bodily functions.) Our first issue includes an interview with some plumbers, an essay about fluorescent lighting, a history of delousing at the El Paso-Juárez border, an exploration of the laws that led to sex-segregated bathrooms, personal stories, artist projects, and more—we even have horoscopes!
In one section of the magazine, and on our website, we provide a list of bathroom codes around New York City and Philadelphia, so that people can use the bathroom in businesses without buying anything. We update the website as often as possible, but we realize that some codes in the print mag will probably have changed by the time people read them. We hope the codes serve a practical purpose, but we also want them to start a conversation about bathroom access, and we hope they inspire people to start their own lists in their own cities, among friends, on Twitter, wherever.
