{"id":1633,"date":"2009-10-01T06:20:06","date_gmt":"2009-10-01T06:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"\/yorktownsquare\/2009\/10\/01\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\/"},"modified":"2012-09-14T07:18:10","modified_gmt":"2012-09-14T11:18:10","slug":"york-pa-underground-restrooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\/","title":{"rendered":"Prohibition forced drinking of alcohol – and York, Pa.’s restrooms – underground"},"content":{"rendered":"

Philip Given of The Susquehanna Photographic blog captured this image from the men’s restroom under York, Pa.’s Continental Square on the recent Harley-Davidson Bike Night. Also of interest: Researcher leaves detailed files on more than 300 York and Adams mills<\/a> and York County photo collection adds to historical record<\/a> and Noted photo archive captures York County treasures<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

“For the non-biker, perhaps one of the most exciting parts about Bike Night was the bathrooms. That’s right. The bathrooms.”
\nSo says a caption on Philip Given’s compelling blog, The Susquehanna Photographic<\/a>.
\nHis blog provides several scenes of the old restrooms, under Continental Square’s <\/a>southeast corner, as part of his photographic coverage of Harley-Davidson’s<\/a> annual Bike Night … .<\/p>\n


\n“One of the best parts are the two red barber chairs that sit in a small dark room off to the side,” another caption states. “We couldn’t help imagining what it was like back in the day, when you could get a hair cut, a shoe shine, and a bath all in one trip.”
\nThe underground men’s and women’s restrooms actually were a sign of the times.
\nAs local researcher Liz Williams wrote in her master’s thesis, their 1920s construction links to Prohibition<\/a>.
\nThe closure of bars meant a dearth of public restrooms.
\nI wrote in the post For decades, York’s underground comfort stations spelled relief<\/a>: “After controversy over whether the public sector should build them, the square was excavated. In short, as drinking went underground, so did the comfort stations.”
\nThe station had showers, a barber’s chair, lockers and a shoe-shine spot. The women’s side had a bath tub.
\nToday, the comfort stations are open for special occasions, such as Bike Night.
\nThanks to Philip Given for providing the rare view.
\nAlso of interest:
\n– Brewery profits produced landmark West York mansion<\/a>.
\n– When did York’s square’s name change from Centre to Continental?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Philip Given of The Susquehanna Photographic blog captured this image from the men’s restroom under<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6,47,10,4,11,12,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives-all-posts","category-events","category-for-photo-fans","category-genealogyresearch","category-local-journalism-web","category-local-landmarks","category-nostalgia-memories","category-unsungobscure-sites"],"yoast_head":"\nProhibition forced drinking of alcohol - and York, Pa.'s restrooms - underground - York Town Square<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prohibition forced drinking of alcohol - and York, Pa.'s restrooms - underground - York Town Square\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Philip Given of The Susquehanna Photographic blog captured this image from the men’s restroom under\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"York Town Square\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-10-01T06:20:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-09-14T11:18:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim McClure\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@JamesMcClure\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim McClure\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yorkblog.com\\\/yorktownsquare\\\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yorkblog.com\\\/yorktownsquare\\\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jim McClure\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yorkblog.com\\\/yorktownsquare\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b48a19c4bb41c9ee494a3eb75485cdd0\"},\"headline\":\"Prohibition forced drinking of alcohol – and York, Pa.’s restrooms – underground\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-10-01T06:20:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-09-14T11:18:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yorkblog.com\\\/yorktownsquare\\\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":321,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Archives, all posts\",\"Events\",\"For photo fans\",\"Genealogy\\\/research\",\"Local journalism & Web\",\"Local landmarks\",\"Nostalgia & memories\",\"Unsung\\\/obscure sites\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/yorkblog.com\\\/yorktownsquare\\\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yorkblog.com\\\/yorktownsquare\\\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yorkblog.com\\\/yorktownsquare\\\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\\\/\",\"name\":\"Prohibition forced drinking of alcohol - and York, Pa.'s restrooms - underground - York Town Square\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yorkblog.com\\\/yorktownsquare\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-10-01T06:20:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-09-14T11:18:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yorkblog.com\\\/yorktownsquare\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b48a19c4bb41c9ee494a3eb75485cdd0\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/yorkblog.com\\\/yorktownsquare\\\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yorkblog.com\\\/yorktownsquare\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yorkblog.com\\\/yorktownsquare\\\/\",\"name\":\"York Town Square\",\"description\":\"Part of the USAToday Network\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yorkblog.com\\\/yorktownsquare\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yorkblog.com\\\/yorktownsquare\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b48a19c4bb41c9ee494a3eb75485cdd0\",\"name\":\"Jim McClure\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/@JamesMcClure\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yorkblog.com\\\/yorktownsquare\\\/author\\\/jim-mcclure\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Prohibition forced drinking of alcohol - and York, Pa.'s restrooms - underground - York Town Square","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Prohibition forced drinking of alcohol - and York, Pa.'s restrooms - underground - York Town Square","og_description":"Philip Given of The Susquehanna Photographic blog captured this image from the men’s restroom under","og_url":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\/","og_site_name":"York Town Square","article_published_time":"2009-10-01T06:20:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-09-14T11:18:10+00:00","author":"Jim McClure","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@JamesMcClure","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jim McClure","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\/"},"author":{"name":"Jim McClure","@id":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/#\/schema\/person\/b48a19c4bb41c9ee494a3eb75485cdd0"},"headline":"Prohibition forced drinking of alcohol – and York, Pa.’s restrooms – underground","datePublished":"2009-10-01T06:20:06+00:00","dateModified":"2012-09-14T11:18:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\/"},"wordCount":321,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Archives, all posts","Events","For photo fans","Genealogy\/research","Local journalism & Web","Local landmarks","Nostalgia & memories","Unsung\/obscure sites"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\/","url":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\/","name":"Prohibition forced drinking of alcohol - and York, Pa.'s restrooms - underground - York Town Square","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-10-01T06:20:06+00:00","dateModified":"2012-09-14T11:18:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/#\/schema\/person\/b48a19c4bb41c9ee494a3eb75485cdd0"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/york-pa-underground-restrooms\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/#website","url":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/","name":"York Town Square","description":"Part of the USAToday Network","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/#\/schema\/person\/b48a19c4bb41c9ee494a3eb75485cdd0","name":"Jim McClure","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/@JamesMcClure"],"url":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/author\/jim-mcclure\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1633\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yorkblog.com\/yorktownsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}