Behind the scenes and into the mens washroom
Yesterday was Doors Open Saskatoon. I love the event in Ottawa because there are so many interesting and historic buildings to visit. In Saskatoon it is much smaller scale, and every so often you luck out and get an interesting guide. On my short tour I visited the Little Stone School House, the U of S Law Building, the Drinkle Building, and the McLean Block. I have to say my favourite was the Law Building and we managed to get on the tour with the Sustainability Coordinator. She gave us very detailed explanations of the new environmental design. This ranged from the use of Saskatchewan wood for the furniture and wall panels, recycled carpet on lease from a company called Interface, an overview of the rooftop garden, and then into the mens washroom for an explanation of the waterless urinals. One young girl on the tour was very reluctant to follow the group inside. There was merely a detailed explanation, and it lacked perhaps a demonstration. I also enjoyed visiting the Drinkle building No.3 not so much for the detailed display on the early 19th boom of Saskatoon, but the fact that my parents had lived there in the 1970s and have always told us interesting stories about that place. At present it seems like a quiet, modern appartment building with all of the renovations. Back in the day, the shared washroom on their floor definitely made for a lot of stories, especially with the lonely resident who insisted on visiting with everyone when they came down the hall. Here is the link for an exterior Doors Open Saskatoon tour.