Vandals strike Seattle’s $116,000 ‘smart’ toilets just weeks after installation—they were for the FIFA World Cup
Ari Hoffman
The incident comes less than a month after city officials celebrated the launch of the restrooms as part of Seattle’s preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and broader efforts to revitalize downtown.
Just weeks after Seattle unveiled four “smart” public toilets in Pioneer Square at a cost of roughly $116,000 per unit, one of the high-tech restrooms was vandalized when someone smashed a window
The incident comes less than a month after city officials celebrated the launch of the Throne Labs restrooms as part of Seattle’s preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and broader efforts to revitalize downtown. The city is spending approximately $465,000 on the one-year pilot program.
Photos of the damaged restroom circulated on social media after being shared by Seattle Submissions. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) told local media that the damage was repaired in less than a day by Throne Labs, the company operating the facilities.