These common areas were often heated with surplus live steam, often running at 900 to 1200 degrees, the radiant heat from the radiators was so ferocious they could only be mounted on high ceilings. All those pipes are surely wrapped in wonderful asbestos. Breathe deep folks!

The spartan look and exposed pipes were part of the "sanitary" bath (and kitchen) style of that time. Clean, white and plain was the desired look. Almost laboratory-like for both kitchen and bath.

At first I was going to comment on the industrial look of the whole thing - exposed pipes, stall doors you can cut yourself on, probably cleaned with a fire hose - but now I find the arrangement of pipes under the sink to have a somewhat mesmerizing Art Nouveau grace to them. Somebody stop me before I remodel the bathroom.

And, oh, the soap dishes!

I didn't think exposed duct work and piping was in vogue for interior design until the late 20th century.

Marble and tile were more commonly used then, with not quite the connotation of luxury they have today -- I worked in a gov't building in Seattle that was (in part) built in the early '30s and the bathrooms in the old building featured marble stall dividers, marble on parts of the wall, and tile mosaic floors with the little hexagons.

Shutting off a water faucet can cause the water flow to come to a jarring stop. The jarring stop is called "water hammer" and can cause the pipes to shake and bang against the walls and other near objects. Those second pipes coming from the shutoff valves are most likely for water hammer arrestors, which are probably hidden from view just behind the basins. The arrestors act like shock absorbers and soften the stop of the water flow and prevent the pipes from shaking and banging around.

I think that's a capped-off stub pipe, which provides an air cushion used to reduce pipe noise ("hammer").

With all that fiber being served at the Conservatory, no wonder they need such large restrooms. Need those high ceilings to dissipate the noxious vapors.

"Elaborate lavatories, finished in marble and mosaic, are provided for the employees and fitted with shower and needle baths and hot and cold soft water, employees being allowed one hour per week on Company's time for use of same."

http://foodcompanycookbooks.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html

Not a mirror in sight. Must be the men's room.

Anyone else spot the spare roll?

Calcite, the crystalline deposit common speleothems are made of, was often quarried, polished and used as a substitute for marble. Many beautiful caves were destroyed in the past because of this trade. It is softer and was less expensive than real marble.

I'm not a plumber but I assume that the sink water supply lines are recirculation type installations. My guess would be that the water is recycled at each tap to regulate pressure to them so the water doesn't spurt and diminish during each use.

"Elaborate lavatories, finished in marble and mosaic, are provided for the employees and fitted with shower and needle baths and hot and cold soft water, employees being allowed one hour per week on Company's time for use of same."

http://foodcompanycookbooks.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html

Real marble, real porcelain, and real stainless steel fixtures and here this was just a public restroom. Some things were better in the past for all our technology, although I would never trade my computer for anything.

["Stainless steel"? Try nickel-plated brass. - Dave]

Notice how each shut-off valve has two pipes leading up towards the sink. One goes to the faucet, but where does the other one go?

Also, I can't help but admire all of the marble. I wonder how much of it ended up in the dump because it went out of style.