Renovated restrooms are open.
The first-floor restrooms near the Sanctuary are open after months of work to enlarge and renovate them. The restrooms have been enlarged from a combined 176 square feet to a new combined total of 895 square feet, resulting in greater capacity for members and guests and improved access for disabled users.
The faucets, soap dispensers, toilets and urinals all boast touch-free operation, and each sink area includes a self-retracting step to help children reach the sink and soap dispensers. A few final design elements are on back-order and will be added when available.
Wilshire’s Director of Operations Randy Crosland says, “This was a complex project, requiring the relocation of the Prayer Room and Nursing Mothers Room. Lots of work on the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC was necessary. The footprint of these new restrooms is at the place where three of Wilshire’s buildings are joined together and therefore a lot of difficulties had to be overcome.”
The Prayer Room was moved to 1100-B near McIver Chapel. The Nursing Mothers Room was moved to the secure area inside the preschool hall near the ECLC office.
The entrances to the restrooms are not where you remember them. The women’s room door can now be found near the passageway to James Gallery; to conveniently reach it from the front of the Sanctuary, exit through the piano-side door. The men’s room door is close to its old location near the library; to reach it from the Sanctuary, use the organ-side door.
The long-awaited and much needed project represents the collaborative work of Wilshire’s staff, Building and Grounds Committee and Interior Design Committee, along with Shanks Architects and Premier West Builders.