The head that made headlines for nearly a year and a half over its initial $1.7 million price tag has finally squatted down in Noe Valley, but it won’t be up and flushing until the end of the month.
When the news came out in October 2022 that the Noe Valley Town Square was getting a public restroom that would cost $1.7 million, that shocking seven-figure cost released a load of controversy. But a Nevada company stepped into the mess and donated a free prefab toilet, which the city happily accepted. Still, the city’s red tape still gave the restroom’s installation some timeline over-runs, and we last heard in February that the public toilet would be “delivered” on March 7.
The eagle has landed! The world’s most famous & eagerly anticipated prefab toilet touched down this morning at Noe Valley Town Square, & installation is flowing smoothly. A few final touches, like utility & landscaping, & this project will be in the can by the end of March. pic.twitter.com/oLnMOz6nHA
— San Francisco Recreation and Park Department (@RecParkSF) March 7, 2024
And it actually was delivered on Thursday, March 7. “The eagle has landed!,” the SF Rec and Parks Department declared on Twitter Thursday. “A few final touches, like utility & landscaping, & this project will be in the can by the end of March.”
Wait, why will it take another three weeks for this already-built toilet to start functioning? The image above was taken Wednesday evening at the toilet’s installation site, the night before the toilet’s arrival from the Nevada-based Public Restroom Company.
“This area will be closed for six weeks beginning mid-February 2024 for construction,” the site’s signage explains. “Recreation and Parks will be installing a new restroom structure, including related utilities, and landscaping.”
Peeping over the fence at the site at 24th Street between Church and Sanchez streets, we saw Wednesday that there is a fair amount of plumbing work and other infrastructure installation that still needs to be done.
But Rec and Park does have this rendering of what the toilet will look like once installed.
So this whole saga will likely finally have a happy outcome by the end of March. Though if you’re in the area of Noe Valley Town Square and really need a bathroom, there is still a porta-potty available at the site.
Top Image: @RecParkSF via Twitter
