Last week a very alert commenter pointed out the “Girl’s Toilet” in this drawing of the first floor of the Chemistry Building, correctly noting that it was palatial:
Here’s a shot of the inside of that room nicely finished with the things girls were supposed to need, including magazines (Oh, how I wish I could see what they are!) and a comfortable place to lie down:
What really interests me about this is that it seems to argue fairly firmly against a not entirely implausible story I’ve heard from several people: that in order to discourage women from taking chemistry classes the bottom step at the entrance to the building was left out, requiring women to lift their skirts to get in. This room, though, looks like a pretty welcoming place and given the short supply of places where female students could gather I’ll bet it was heavily used.
Bonus: Another image of the same tree I posted yesterday. It lacks the attractive background but gives a better sense of scale.
