Fireman’s Park Restooms

Brenham, Texas

The playful grouping of three outbuildings provides amenities for this 30-acre park adjacent to downtown Brenham. In addition to the high school ballpark, the area includes a playground and picnic areas, an antique carousel and Maipole (part of the city’s annual Maifestival) and a kitchen building, used for public and private events.

The restrooms’ location on the hillside is visible, convenient, and afforded the best accessibility from all areas of the park. To create its own sense of place, the grouping of three – a men’s, women’s, and a family restroom – is oriented inward, creating a small court area shaded by the buildings’ upward-swooping rooflines. The arrangement’s distinctive shapes provide an easily identifiable,  charming landmark for wayfinding and meeting in the park. 

Taking material cues from the adjacent CCC-era buildings (including a replacement kitchen building by Upchurch Architects in 2008), the family restroom building repeats the use of local fieldstone, while the men’s and women’s restroom buildings feature the kitchen’s cementitious lap siding. Playful details like the stream of blue tile that  directs users to the water fountain / bottle filling station, exposed rafter tails that sprout like hair under the pointed hats of the roofs, and the use of color on the doors, reinforce the park character,  pay tribute to the rich history of CCC-era park structures in Texas, and ensure the park continues to serves the community well.