The Pittsburgh Potty? (Beaver, Bath: apartment, house, living in)

[*Danielle*]

I was just reading a listing on Craigslist. "Washer and dryer hook-up in the basement along with a Pittsburgh potty."

What does this mean??

[BVH]

LOL! That means that the basement has a bathroom...more specifically, it may just be a plain old toilet in the basement! I think that a lot of basements here in Pittsburgh have them. It seems that most apts and a lot of homes have only one bathroom and it is usually TINY.

Our apartment is HUGE and it has this tiny little bathroom not much larger than a closet....

[gallacus]

Yeah, this is more often referred to as a Pittsburgh Bath. Every house I looked at on the Southside has one, its just a shower and a toilet sitting against a wall in the middle of your basement. I suppose if they are saying "Pittsburgh Potty" that would indicate there is no shower, only a toilet.

[Pitman]

The story I always heard was that these these homes were built with basement showers were so the guys coming home from the steel mill or the coal mine could clean up before coming upstairs and tracking grime all over the house.

[suzeeq521]

I have heard that story too, Pitman.

However, I also have noticed that every house that I have lived in with this set up was built before homes were built with indoor plumbing. And if you think about the easiest way to install plumbing in a house that never had it to begin with, the basement would make sense.

In one case, my basement bathroom was my only bathroom.

And in the case of my mother's house, it was built before indoor plumbing. Then the kitchen plumbing and a basement bathroom were added (the bathroom was of course, right under the kitchen, so the water and drainage was all in the same part of the house). Finally, a powder room was added on the second floor in the 80's, by the last owners. And finally, this year, my mom was able to make that powder room a full bath.

Ah, the evolution of a toilet. Fascinating.

[fleetiebelle]

The story I always heard was that these these homes were built with basement showers were so the guys coming home from the steel mill or the coal mine could clean up before coming upstairs and tracking grime all over the house.

I'd heard this, too, and it makes sense, but still, why don't any of the Pittsburgh toilets have at least one wall around them? They're just right smack in the middle of the room, out in the open.

[Geeo]

I have a Pittsburgh potty in my house, too. Only problem is, the house was built in 1964! But I finally figured out that the laundry room where the potty is also has a drain for a bathtub or shower and the whole room can be convertred to a full bathroom. Some of the neighbors have done that.

[Jay_F]

My uncle's house in Beaver was built in 1917, and it had a Pittsburgh toilet right in the open next to a corner wall. Better to have Pittsburgh toilet, than have a real German toilet in your German apartment like I did .

[suzeeq521]

Oh, Geeo - I'm sure that it isn't what I said in ever case, but just that was my experience.

Despite being born into a house that was brand new the same year I was born, I've ended up living in a lot of old homes.

[velcro21]

We found this a lot when we bought our house five years ago. Many people would say they had 1.5 bathrooms---the half bath being a toilet under the stairs. Sometimes there was a door... the nice ones had a single bulb on a chain right over the toilet...