MINTURN, Colo., Nov. 18 (UPI/Dan Uria) ─ A small town in Colorado was recently awarded the honor of being home to America’s Best Public Restroom.
A pair of outhouses, designed to look like a passage into a mine, in the town of Minturn beat out nine other finalists to be named the winner of Cintas’ America’s Best Restroom Awards.
Cintas annually compiles a list of the nation’s best bathrooms based on a set of criteria including cleanliness, visual appeal, innovation, functionality and unique design elements. The list of ten finalists is then put to a national vote to determine the winner.
As the 2015 contest winner, the town of Minturn is set to receive $2,500 worth of restroom services provided by Cintas.
The restrooms are made of 320 fabricated wood pieces and feature turquoise walls and steel butterflies on the ceilings.
Project manager Janet Hawkinson expressed gratitude on behalf of the town for having their work recognized.
“Making the humble public restroom into functional art was both a design challenge and a joy,” she said. “We are gratified to be recognized for achieving that and for creating a project that reflects the uniqueness of the community.”
The town of Minturn employed an extensive campaign for the restroom by creating a Facebook page, printing posters and even moving the town’s annual Trick-or-Treat event from town hall to the site of the restrooms.
Minturn Mayor Hawkeye Flaherty expressed pride in his town for their accomplishment at a public award ceremony.
“It is great to be recognized as the No.1 town in the No.2 business and have the finest public restrooms in the country,” Flaherty said.
