Vintage pink bathroom tile. We see it all the time. But….this is 4″ x 6″ pink bathroom tile, run vertically. So it qualifies as a wonderful oddity — a woddity. Lookie that nice Hallmack glass shelf with chrome bracket too. A perfectly beautiful shade of Mamie Eisenhower pink.
This story goes under the “Hmmmm, Let’s See What’s in My Photo Files?” file. I took it more than a year ago. It is inside the girl’s bathroom at Monument Mountain High School, down the road from me, in Great Barrington, Mass.
I was at a garden lecture that Margaret gave in connection with the launch of her book. There were other people walking in and out of this bathroom, wondering, surely, who was that nutcase snapping photos. Yes, I am a woddity, too. I think I asked one of them to take a picture of me sitting against the wall. However, I did not like how I looked in that photo, not even with all the retro botox aka pink bathroom tile reflecting deliciously all over me.
I do not know whether you can even get 4″ x 6″ tiles anywhere today. I have a vague recollection of seeing the size listed in a vintage catalog or brochure some time; among my piles somewhere, someday will dig it up. And, I am not sure whether I even *like* this look. It is strange to me. Things look *strange* when you are not accustomed to them. Just as vintage pink bathrooms — even with *plain* 4×4 tiles — may initially repel the uninitiated. The 4×6 tiles railroaded vertically certainly seem to create “height”, compared to what you’d get with a 4×4.
Alas, I bet the girls down at Monument don’t know what a vintage treasure they are experiencing.
Sarah says
Wow! A treasure indeed and so CLEAN looking. I’m surprised the glass bits have survived intact, especially.
Kate says
That is the cleanest and best maintained public school bathroom I have ever seen in my entire life. It looks brand new. And the stall doors! The chrome and glass shelves! All spotless. Do they have a bathroom monitor?
Margaret Roach says
Cracks me right up. I can’t take you *anywhere*. : )
pam kueber says
🙂
gsciencechick says
Wow, everything looks like it’s in pristine condition.
judy h. says
They must have had some very well behaved and respectful students all of these years for that bathroom to be in the condition it is!
hannah says
As another poster said, I can’t believe the great condition it’s all in considering it’s in a school bathroom! it’s ALL lovely.
Mary Trimboli says
Looks just like the ladies restroom in the church in which I grew up. Ah, the memories!
Aleta says
this is my favorite shade of pink! what a great HS bathroom – i’d be studying in there all day:D
Allen says
WOW! That’s great. They must take very good care of their schools in Mass. They treat our schools like trash around here just so they can try and get a new one built and then start all over again. It’s sad but I have been able to get some mid-century building materials from some of them over the years.
Laura's Last Ditch--Vintage Kitchenwares says
I can hardly believe they didn’t tear this out, and that it’s in such nice condition. Wonderful!
It still makes me sad that my elementary school tore out the foot-lever fountain-style sinks. Those were wonderful!
Elaine says
Oh, I remember when they put those in my school, 1954 it was, big round granite fountains with a hose around the bottom that you stepped on to make water come out and then, little lines of water came out of a pipe al the way around the sink. I loved those sinks! I was in first grade and thought there could be nothing so modern and impressive.
Chris H says
We still have those sinks in the school system that I work for. We have pink bathrooms too, in two of the buildings. It’s more of a pepto pink though. Yellow for the boys.
Tracy says
We had those too!! I was in Grade One (so that would be 1970!) in the girls bathroom- we all loved stepping on the rubber ring thing with our feet to make the water spray out! Never seen one since!!