The Urinals of the Madonna Inn

The following email was sent to the offices of Urinal Dot Net:

Have your heard about the urinals at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, California? The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce is proud of them and considers them a tourist attraction for the city.

This is the front view of the urinal. Note the black square on the left side wall. It's a light sensor that activates a waterfall down the front of the urinal structure when a person stands at the urinal.

Here's the excerpt from the brochure: MEN'S ROOM AT MADONNA INN:

"A trip to San Luis Obispo wouldn't be complete without visiting the men's room at the Madonna Inn. As crazy as it sounds, this room is a popular stop for both men and women. Unfortunately, if you're a man and need to use this for it's original purpose, be prepared to be interrupted by giggling women with cameras. Madonna Inn is a motel with each room having its own theme (like the caveman room). There is also a restaurant, wine cellar, and a few shops in the main building. Mrs. Madonna loved the color pink which you'll see everywhere but luckily they haven't repainted in awhile so it's not as fluorescent as it once was. Once you enter the main building, go down the staircase at the right. This will take you to the wine cellar, and pay phone in the Flintstones-like rock cave. The men's restroom is to the left. Here you'll find the attraction... a urinal that looks like a waterfall which is activated when you break a beam of light. Yep, that's it!"

This is a view of the waterfall in action.

In this picture you can see the reflector mounted on the opposite urinal wall from the sensor. This urinal can accommodate two people.

Watch this movie to see the waterfall urinal being activated

The above picture of another urinal at the Madonna Inn was sent in by an independent contributor. He writes: "A recent vacation down California's Central Coast brought me to the famous Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. After several iced teas at the lunch counter, it was necessary to visit the restroom and while I wanted to visit the world-famous urinal there, time was of the essence and I discovered another restroom closer to my position and headed down the stairs. Well, you can imagine my surprise when I went through the door and found a towering Copper Trough Urinal complete with waterwheel!! It was incredible. The electronic eye beam was present and when activated, the water wheel on the upper left began turning and splashing water down into the trough. (Quite a find, I'm sure you'd agree!!). The design certainly evokes the romance of the Old West. In fact, the whole men's room had an Old West ambiance as the sink faucets were actually pumps like you'd find on a well and the doors to the stalls were the types you'd find at the entrance of a saloon."

The above photograph of the same fixture was taken by a member of the Urinal Dot Net staff in 2004.