For today’s column, I am writing about something readers would not ordinarily expect in the CSDR Old Times newsletter. The truth is that older alumni and retirees have not seen newer cottages on campus. In reversal, more recent alumni, students and newer employees have not seen the now-razed dorms. They all would like to know the differences between the past restrooms and today’s. Hence, I am being called to provide the descriptions herein.
As seen in the above picture, Debbie Hanson, ‘77, points at Rubidoux III, where she lived from 1969 to 1972. I am grateful to Debbie for sharing this column's first three pictures taken in 2010.
The above photo gives an excellent view of what the dorm restroom looked like in the early decades. Each dorm building contained 16 bedrooms and eight restrooms for residential students. Each bedroom had two or three beds each depending on demand. Two bedrooms were separated by a restroom in the middle.
Billy “Rusty” Wales, ‘63, remarks on the unforgettable memory of making unbelievably loud noises in the bathroom with the side doors closed. His roommates joined him in converting the restroom into an echo room with sounds bouncing off the walls like crazy in the corner. They heard and felt the powerful effects and loved it that they repeated the echo experiment for a bundle of fun.
As an archivist, I dug through the stacks of old construction manuals and found the above sheet with illustrations of the washing sink that should be in all restrooms.
On the other side of the restroom were two flush toilets separated by a dual shower stall. Two residents could take a shower with two shower heads (one on the left and the other on the right) at the same time. I remember my student years from 1970 to 1976 living in the dorms. I took a shower with another boy in the dual stall. We often chatted while washing. We felt like a family.
Take a good look at the wall and floor texture that was uniform in all restrooms on campus. You can still see the green texture in the remaining older buildings.
I remember my initial reaction in 1984 in the restroom at Palomar College, 60 miles south of Riverside. I taught there part-time and full-time for 40 years. I felt like I was at CSDR again at Palomar. I soon learned that CSDR and Palomar saw construction on their respective campus at the same time in the early 1950s. Both schools are operated by the State and had the same construction companies using the same building materials. Amazing coincidence on my personal level.
Above is the standard flush toilet that was installed throughout including the “private” restrooms for the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent offices as well as the Superintendent’s house (now razed). Kim Cheek, ‘86, and Ken Andrews, ‘84, share the same comment with me that the old toilet had a powerful flush with loud sound despite their profound deafness. One could hold the flush longer to watch the strong water going down the drain nonstop. Wendy Calhoun Korn, ‘82, supplements her story that every time the toilet was flushed, the shower water got hotter.
Through the forceful persuasion of Dr Ron Kadish and campus visits, the state officials finally saw a genuine need to replace the aging residence halls after 50 years of use.
Determined to make new residence halls better than their older counterparts, a committee was formed to make a wish list for a more attractive “home” on campus. Among the changes is the restroom design. Rather than eight restrooms in the older dorms, each cottage is equipped with three restrooms with two for residents and one for staff.
Bedrooms and restrooms are found on the left and right sides of each cottage. Both are physically separate, meaning a resident needs to step out of the bedroom and walk to the restroom nearby.
Today’s cottages stand apart widely from the older dorms in architectural terms. This is also true for restrooms. As can be seen in the above picture, the restroom is significantly larger than the old one.
At right are two shower stalls. Farther in the back are two toilets. On the ceiling is the alarm strobe light for emergencies. We did not have those in the old days.
Another difference in the restroom design is the sinks. The countertop is long with four sinks with the water-efficient system in place. Soap dispensers are provided for sinks. On the right is the paper towel dispenser mounted on the wall. This convenient feature was lacking in the past.
I bet you are taken back by the shower stall size - very roomy - for a good reason. Due to the enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act enacted in July 1990 on the national scale. California is in strict compliance with this mandate for all state facilities. To make the shower stalls accessible for persons using a wheelchair, the stall needs to be wide enough to be able to move around. The grab rails are also mounted for mobility and safety. Two shower heads are mounted on the wall for both able-bodied and physically-challenged residents. Lastly, the folding chair is mounted on the right.
In closing, today’s cottages clearly offer a better solution for the old dorms, but at an eye-popping cost. The cost for the whole school construction with multiple buildings was $7 million in the 1950s. Sixty years later in the 2010s, a single cottage construction cost an astounding $7 million. This is largely due to inflation and the construction cost that has risen over time. Still, we are grateful to the State for keeping our school in sound and safe shape for education and residence.
Kevin Struxness, ‘76, MA
Editor, CSDR Old Times
3 November 2024
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