Growing up, I always wondered why there was a lonely toilet sitting in the corner of our basement—no walls, no sink, nothing but a bare fixture on a concrete floor. It felt strange and out of place. But years later, I found out our house wasn’t the only one with this odd setup. In fact, these basement toilets—often called “Pittsburgh potties”—were surprisingly common in early 20th-century homes, especially in industrial cities.

So what were they doing down there?

It turns out these toilets served two important purposes. First, they were incredibly practical for working-class families. After a long day in the mines, factories, or steel mills, workers would come home covered in grime. Instead of tracking dirt through the house, they could use the basement toilet and a utility sink (if there was one) to clean up before heading upstairs. It was a kind of early “mudroom.”

The second reason was all about plumbing. In cities with outdated or overburdened sewer systems, backups could happen during heavy rain. If pressure built up in the pipes, sewage could backflow into the home. These basement toilets acted as a sort of emergency release—any overflow would come out down there, where it was easier to clean up on a concrete floor, rather than flooding a nicely tiled upstairs bathroom.

Today, many of these basement toilets are long gone or left unused, but they offer a fascinating glimpse into the lives and ingenuity of past generations. What once seemed weird now makes perfect sense—a humble, practical solution to two very real problems.