Originally published May 2017
There is one kind of room in a house that is crucial to the running of a house, but that very few people like to talk about and that is the bathroom. In older homes, especially century homes, bathrooms can be tricky. Prior to the turn of the 20th century, many homes relied on outhouses for their daily potty routine. But as indoor plumbing became more available, bathrooms started to move indoors. While an indoor bathroom was more convenient, it was still considered a very utilitarian room. You did not build a grand and beautiful bathroom or even have multiple bathrooms because having a bathroom inside was a luxury unto itself.
For this reason, even in grandiose homes like the Lamson House, it was not uncommon for there to be only one, relatively small bathroom. When the Lamson House was built, it had only one bathroom on the second floor, which had the best access for all of the family members.
As time moved on though, the idea of a house that large with only one bathroom became ridiculous and so various owners wedged in new bathrooms where they could. On the first floor, a room off the kitchen and dining room that was previously a butler’s pantry was converted to a bathroom. On the third floor, a small corner of the nursery was sectioned off and a closet size bathroom was added. Even the unfinished basement got a toilet. Not technically a bathroom but still a toilet sitting installed under a staircase in the basement. Perhaps the owner at that time could only find peace for his business in the basement?
When all of these bathrooms were added is difficult to say. I imagine that the bathroom that is in the previous butler’s pantry went in during the 1940s, but even that is a guess. The loss of the butler’s pantry for a bathroom makes me a little sad as that conversion would have removed a few details from the house that would be delightful to have now. For example, the house originally had a dumb waiter that ran from that pantry to the upper floors and lovely leaded glass cabinets that lined the walls and these were likely all removed at that time. But then again, a beautiful butler’s pantry and a dumb waiter, while interesting, are not nearly as useful as a bathroom on the first floor.
Houses and rooms change in function as time passes and bathrooms in homes are an odd but important example of this.