Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States New York State New York City Manhattan Keith Haring's 'Once Upon a Time' Bathroom Mural
AO Edited

Keith Haring's 'Once Upon a Time' Bathroom Mural

A masterpiece of LGBT art has been restored in what may now be the most valuable restroom in America.

New York, New York

Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Keith H’s bathroom mural   carlitosftl / Atlas Obscura User
Keith Haring’s “Once Upon a Time” Bathroom Mural   jameshenry1
Keith Haring’s “Once Upon a Time” Bathroom Mural   jameshenry1
Keith Haring’s “Once Upon a Time” Bathroom Mural   jameshenry1
Keith Haring’s “Once Upon a Time” Bathroom Mural   jameshenry1
Keith Haring’s “Once Upon a Time” Bathroom Mural   jameshenry1
Really Was a Restroom   Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  svidigula / Atlas Obscura User
  svidigula / Atlas Obscura User
Earn street cred by remaining totally casual and cool when others walk in   unitof / Atlas Obscura User
Keith Haring’s “Once Upon a Time” Bathroom Mural   jameshenry1
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Keith H’s bathroom mural   carlitosftl / Atlas Obscura User
Keith H’s bathroom mural   carlitosftl / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
The view of 13th Street from former urinal #2   unitof / Atlas Obscura User
Entrance   Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  greatoz99 / Atlas Obscura User
Entrance   greatoz99 / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Exterior   Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
LGTB CENTER   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Keith H’s bathroom mural   carlitosftl / Atlas Obscura User
Keith H’s bathroom mural   carlitosftl / Atlas Obscura User
  svidigula / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

If you've lived long enough you've probably seen a simple line drawing of a penis scrawled somewhere on a bathroom wall, or a building, or a textbook, or well, you get the idea. This is not out of the ordinary. However, there is a bathroom in the West Village that not only has this image in abundance, it has been preserved as a major work of contemporary art. This artwork is anything but ordinary.

May 1989 saw the creation of Keith Haring's bathroom mural Once Upon a Time. He was 31 at the time and this was his last major mural before his untimely death in February 1990 of AIDS-related complications. The piece was created for "The Center Show," a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, largely thought of as the start of the Gay Liberation and LGBT Rights movement. The Center Show called upon LGBT artists to create site-specific works of art in the building commonly called "The Center" (now called The Center: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center). Haring chose to create his provocative work in the second floor men's bathroom.

The mural covers four interior walls and surrounds the viewer with Haring's signature black-on-white line drawings of penises, fluids, babies, and groping figures all intertwined above the tiles of the bathroom stalls. Once Upon a Time was an homage to the more care-free days of bathroom sex before HIV and AIDS ravaged the gay community in New York and beyond. These are not the Haring images we are used to seeing on buttons, magnets, puzzles, and clothes; this is the private, sexual Haring come to life in a grandiose and unapologetic celebration of gay sexuality. 

Unfortunately, time and the elements gradually took their toll on the mural. This was partly due to Haring's not having primed the surface before painting and exposure to the elements from years of open window abuse. For a few years, the bathroom was used as the Center's meeting room until 2012, when funds were raised for a major renovation of the work. The mural was restored and opened to the public in 2015 along with other major works from the show by Leon Golub, Barbara Sandler, Kenny Scharf, George Whitman, and Martin Wong.

Since Haring's works have sold at auction for up to $2.5 million it is quite possible that this is the most valuable bathroom in America. Luckily, you can see it for free. The Keith Haring Bathroom and other Center Show works are now open to the public during regular business hours at the Center.

Related Tags

Bathrooms Art Paintings Keith Haring Lgbtq Murals

Know Before You Go

The bathroom is wheelchair accessible. The bathroom is located on the 2nd floor, Room 205.

Community Contributors

Edited By

SEANETTA, unitof, Collector of Experiences, greatoz99...

  • SEANETTA
  • unitof
  • Collector of Experiences
  • greatoz99
  • carlitosftl
  • svidigula

Published

June 12, 2016

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://news.artnet.com/in-brief/keith-harings-nsfw-bathroom-mural-to-reopen-in-2015-193032
  • http://www.wnyc.org/story/191076-once-upon-time/
  • http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/gay-center-preserves-treasure-painted-on-a-bathroom-wall/?_r=0
  • http://www.out.com/entertainment/popnography/2012/03/06/bathroom-keith-haring
  • http://art-nerd.com/newyork/keith-harings-bathroom/
Keith Haring's 'Once Upon a Time' Bathroom Mural
208 West 13th Street
New York, New York, 10011
United States
40.738038, -74.001044
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

'Life Underground' Sculptures

New York, New York

miles away

Jefferson Market Library

New York, New York

miles away

Camilo Egas Mural at the New School

New York, New York

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of New York

New York

New York

Places 406
Stories 90

Nearby Places

'Life Underground' Sculptures

New York, New York

miles away

Jefferson Market Library

New York, New York

miles away

Camilo Egas Mural at the New School

New York, New York

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of New York

New York

New York

Places 406
Stories 90

Related Stories and Lists

10 Bathrooms You Should Pee in Before You Die

List

By Sabrina Imbler

Related Places

  • May you rest in peace.

    Birmingham, England

    'A Life in the Year of the Chinchillas'

    The ceiling of this shopping arcade is adorned with six trompe-l’œil artworks, including a grim funeral scene.

  • Keith Haring’s ‘Crack is Wack’ mural

    New York, New York

    ‘Crack Is Wack’

    In 1986, Keith Haring was arrested for painting this anti-drug mural on a Harlem handball court.

  • Mansfield Traquair Centre

    Edinburgh, Scotland

    Mansfield Traquair Centre

    Edinburgh’s version of the Sistine Chapel is this former church, with an interior covered in paintings done by one woman over the course of nearly a decade.

  • Keith Haring Mural

    Collingwood, Australia

    Keith Haring Mural

    A large Melbourne wall is home to an iconic work of art from one of the world's most renowned street artists.

  • Glasgow, Scotland

    Clydeside Expressway Mural Wall

    Vibrant paintings stretch across 600 feet of derelict railway.

  • The Congress’s wall and ceiling murals.

    Chetumal, Mexico

    Murales del Congreso (Congress Murals)

    A bright, colorful telling of the history of Mexico's youngest state.

  • View from the cafe.

    Pisa, Italy

    'Tuttomondo'

    A local student's chance encounter with Keith Haring led to the creation of one of Europe's largest murals.

  • Miquel Barceló’s ceiling at the UN headquarters in Geneva.

    Geneva, Switzerland

    United Nations Ceiling

    This colorful but controversial ceiling has been likened to a 21st-century Sistine Chapel.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.