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.