A few days ago, Janice and I attended the inaugural concert in the newly
renovated Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan, a 1913 structure
which is often compared to Carnegie Hall and other famous venues.

Quinn Evans, which is to say, our own Ilene Tyler and her professional
associates, were the architects.

A principal charge to the renovators was to increase the supply of toilets
in the building, especially for women.  And indeed, in lots of unexpected
places, there are restrooms now.  For example, the grand series of five
entry doors across the front was shortened, with the leftmost and
rightmost replaced (on the facade) by brass dummies; behind the dummies
are now bathrooms.

And the style of all these new bathrooms is remarkably like the 1913
originals, with period fittings and marble partitions between the stalls.
Not Napoleon Gray, but I don't think the originals were Napoleon Gray.

One criticism of the new bathrooms I heard from men and women alike: the
absence of coat hooks in the stalls!  And many of those complaining blamed
the absence of coat hooks on what they assumed to be a misguided concern
for historical accuracy.

But I can't imagine that the originals were without coat hooks.  Of
course, over the years since 1913, undoubtedly the original coat hooks
were systematically broken or removed by vandals, as they are in most
public toilet facilities -- at least in those designated for use by men.

I'm not sure why vandals are so angered by the presence of bathroom coat
hooks.  Nonetheless, the audiences who attend concerts at Hill these days
seem very well behaved.  To leave out the bathroom coat hooks is to
surrender to vandals who may not actually exist in this population.

I was urged to point out to the architects that men's dress suits often
involve suspenders, so that one must remove one's jacket (and hang it
where?) before lowering the pants.  I am also told that women sometimes
face a similar clothing problem.  Moreover, women typically come into
bathroom stalls armed with shoulder strap purses, and prefer not to set
them on the floor.

So, both genders wish for coat hooks in bathroom stalls at Hill
Auditorium.

                              Larry

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Lawrence Kestenbaum, [log in to unmask]
The Political Graveyard, http://politicalgraveyard.com
Mailing address: P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106

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