The inside of Minturn's public restroom up for best in the country.
A "modern restrooms" sign from the 1920s sits in front of the new bathrooms in Minturn as visitors did not know what they were.
The small town of Minturn prides itself in no longer being just a stop on the way to Beaver Creek, but now the home to the best public restroom in America.
In September, supply company Cintas announced Minturn’s new unique outdoor bathrooms were finalists in the 14th annual America’s Best Restroom Contest. Much like the building of the bathrooms, collecting votes became a community project.
Town planning director Janet Hawkinson, who had a hand in the design and construction of the “functional art” bathrooms, says the town went all out on promotion. They created a Facebook page for voting, mentioned the contest during televised town meetings and everyone who participated in the conceptualization and construction of the restrooms, almost 50 people, campaigned to family and friends.
Printed posters decorated Minturn streets through voting and the unconventional stop even commandeered the popular Minturn Halloween trick-or-treating event where hundreds stop at local businesses to collect candy. Instead of having town hall as a location, treats with cards that said “Vote for Minturn” were handed out in front of the bathrooms during the Oct. 30 event.
Through the grassroots voting effort, the whole experience was “good to get Minturn on the map,” Hawkinson said.
Holding back chuckles, Hawkison said there has been a great sense of humor and jokes around town about being known for their toilets. The town is just happy that a project that was such a big part of the community had its time to shine.
The two restrooms, one for men and one for women, sit a few feet apart and feature fabricated wood pieces — 320 different pieces total — on the sides where they face each other to mimic an adit, or an entrance to a mine in honor of Minturn’s rich mining history. Inside the bathrooms, walls are painted turquoise and copper and feature steel butterflies on the ceiling. Conception, design and construction were all done locally.
Hawkinson was notified on Nov. 2 that they had won.
Cintas’ Assistant Marketing Manager Jillian Bauer visited Minturn on Tuesday, Nov. 10 to present Mayor Hawkeye Flaherty with the 2015 award. A crowd of almost 100 people from the Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy and local businesses — some holding their own rolls of toilet paper for the occasion — attended to watch them hang the signage, get pictures taken and more.
“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.
In addition to a spot in the America’s Best Restroom Hall of Fame, Minturn also receives a $2,500 credit to spend on Cintas services like restroom cleaning and supplies.
The contest attracted thousands of online votes, and America chose The Music Hall in Portsmouth, N.H. as the runner up, followed by Charleston Distilling in Charleston, S.C. rounding out the top three.