To continue your tour, please exit the Brown Room. There will be a small guest bathroom to your left, and a larger guest bathroom to your right.
Each of the two guest rooms on this floor had access to a private bathroom. The smaller bath, which serves the Brown Room, was originally a Trunk Room according to floorplans from the late-1910s or early 1920s. A Trunk room was a storage area for guests’ luggage. We don’t know exactly when the space was updated, but it seems to have happened early in the Plants’ occupation. All of the tiles and fixtures found in this bathroom match the rest of the bathrooms in the mansion.
The larger bathroom originally served both guest rooms, but was later used solely by guests staying in the Green Room. In this bathroom, guests had access to the same amenities as the Plants; a flush toilet, pedestal sink, tub, and needle shower. Take a moment to look closely at the needle shower If you are not there yet, please press pause and resume the player when you are ready.
This needle shower is one of three in the house, all manufactured by the J. L. Mott Iron Works of New York. A system like this would have cost between $300 and $500 in 1914 (roughly the equivalent of $9700 to $16,000 today), so not something your average family would have in their home.
Notice the outer pipes, which would curve around a person standing inside. Each pipe is punctured with small holes, and, by turning the knob to “NEEDLE,” the user would enjoy a spray of water all around his torso.
If you look closely, you will also see a knob that reads “TEST.” By turning this knob, the water would run out from the spout at the bottom, allowing the individual to adjust the water temperature before turning on the shower head or needle.
Lucknow’s indoor plumbing utilized gravity to draw water into the house through lead pipes from the same reservoir tied to the fire suppression system. The resulting water pressure may have reached seventy pounds, which meant that a needle shower was particularly invigorating.
