The bathrooms at The Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum are conveniently located near the front entry. Even though they are “front and center” at the museum, they can be difficult for people to find.
For one, the beautiful hardwood doors leading into the bathrooms look like all the other doors in the museum, so they blend in to the rest of the architecture. That is by design. Why not have lovely bathroom doors that fit with the style of the building and are inviting to enter?
The other feature of the bathrooms that makes them hard to find is that the “Women” and “Men” identification plates, which are brass, are down at thigh level for an adult. They’re not at eye level or at the top of the door, where most people expect to find them. While it might be easier to put standard bathroom signs on or near the door, part of what makes the Weyerhaeuser Museum feel comfortable and attractive are these subtle details.
As our curator pointed out, the fact that visitors can’t always find the bathrooms encourages interaction between them and museum staff. And we’re more than happy to assist visitors in their bathroom location efforts.
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Celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum.