Palace Theater

2384 James Street, Syracuse, NY 13206-2841

Grade: C-

The Palace Theater's men's room is pretty serviceable, but is lacking in two key areas -- water temperature and the inclusion of a mirror. The water was frigid during the entirety of my hand-washing process, and there is no mirror to speak of. These are two oversights that are pretty hard to ignore.

But the facilities are not without a certain charm. The restroom's location (it lies down a flight of stairs and beneath the theater lobby), age (the theater was built in the 1920s) and low ceilings give it a cool (as in temperature), subterranean feel that remind me of an old European church. Everything was also very clean, and the foaming hand soap (though dispensed from a store-bought bottle) had a pleasant floral scent.

I visited the theater for a screening of Pope Joan, which was utterly ridiculous but entertaining nonetheless. The film is based on the novel by Syracuse author Donna Woolfolk Cross, which I get the feeling is probably better than the movie. Good bathroom reading, perhaps?

Regal Carousel Mall Stadium 17

9586 Carousel Center, Syracuse, NY 13290
Grade: C+


There is very little to set this movie theater restroom apart from others. The urinals are set up in such a way that if you stand at the furthest one to the right, you are a single step away from people in the lobby being able to see you. Props to the single Xlerator dryer, but auto-flushing toilets and urinals would have been nice.

One interesting thing is that the condom-type dispenser on the wall is not filled with condoms at all, but instead with breath mints and a knockoff Calvin Klein cologne. As far as I can tell, these are items that are (at least in theory) more likely to cause a pregnancy than to prevent it. I see this as being terribly irresponsible on the part of the theater owners.

Regal Cinemas Shoppingtown Mall 14, DeWitt

3649 Erie Blvd. East, Syracuse, NY 13214
Grade: B+


Okay. I consider this to be a somewhat family-friendly blog. I want a diverse variety of readers to be able to get enjoyment from it. If this blog were a film, it would most likely garner a PG to a PG-13 rating, depending on daily subject (we are, after all, talking about bathrooms here).

That said, do not click on the Google maps address link above if you are easily offended. I searched for the address to link to, like I do with all of my posts. It just so happens that a fairly hilarious, one-sentence, poorly punctuated and capitalized review for this movie theater (specifically, oddly enough, its restroom) was posted on July 11, 2010 by someone named Dan. So if you are of the sort who appreciates an R-rated laugh every now and then, feel free to click on that link and click on "reviews." I don't know how these things happen. I just write about them.

Also, I'm not certain whether said review is a statement of fact or just a lame joke. Therefore, I will not let it affect my review of this men's room.

Rest assured that my review is much less graphic. This is a fairly nice men's room with Xlerator hand dryers, disposable toilet seat covers, automatic sinks, auto-flushing toilets and urinals and a unique color scheme. The only thing holding it back, really, is a distinct feeling of cheapness that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I suppose everything feels just a little too artificial; it almost feels cartoonish in its attempts to be bright and lively. It immediately struck me as how a bathroom in Mega Man Legends might have looked, if there were bathrooms in that game. Peep the last image below to see what I'm talking about.