Toilet display in Lucas in the running for nation’s best restroom

If Kansans pull together, a Russell County toilet could claim the prize as America’s Best Restroom.

Last month, the Grassroots Art Center’s Bowl Plaza in Lucas was selected as one of the finalists in the “Top 10” best restrooms in the nation. The competition is sponsored by Cintas, a company that designs restrooms.

In a contest where people could vote for their favorite restroom in the U.S., the tiny Russell County town’s only public restroom quickly rose to the top. So far, the Lucas Bowl Plaza — which is shaped like a giant toilet — is second in the nation, behind Longwood Gardens in Philadelphia.

Other contenders include the American Girl Place in Chicago, the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis and the Tiki Lounge in Pittsburgh.

The contest ends Friday. Go to www.bestrestroom.com and cast your vote. The winner and runner-up will be listed in Cintas’ Best Restroom Hall of Fame.

Lucas, which has 407 residents, is home to the “Garden of Eden,” which features the peculiar work of S.P. Dinsmoor. He was a retired schoolteacher and Civil War veteran who sculpted 113 tons of concrete into various religious and political figures in his backyard.

In 2008, the town residents banded together because there was a need for a public restroom. It took them four years to raise money and design the facility, in the shape of a toilet.

In 2012, they opened a monument making Lucas home of the largest, most blingy toilet in Kansas.

This story was originally published October 28, 2014 at 7:49 AM with the headline "Toilet display in Lucas in the running for nation’s best restroom."