Did you know - Toronto's first public washroom facilities were underground - and men-only? November 19 is World Toilet Day, a UN initiative that highlights the need for access to sanitation, and we're taking a look back at some of the city's early lavatories. 1. Toronto and Adelaide Streets - intersection, 1912. Fonds 1231, Item 1657. Toronto's first public lavatory was on Toronto Street at Adelaide. Opened in 1896, its original entrance was a small tower in the roadway, but was later renovated to have an open stairway surrounded by an iron railing. 2. Public lavatory, corner of Toronto and Adelaide Streets, 1897. Fonds 200, Series 376, File 1, Item 90a. 3. Corner of Queen Street and Spadina Avenue, public lavatory, 1890s. Fonds 200, Series 376, File 5, Item 84. Following soon after the Toronto Street lavatory was another underground facility at Queen and Spadina. The busiest (and perhaps most remembered now) of the early public bathrooms, the open stairway in the middle of the r...