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Mascho Building and Public Privy

Historic building
In Chandler, Oklahoma
0.3 mi from Route 66
National Register of Historic Places

The Mascho Building in Chandler, OK, is a Richardsonian Romanesque commercial building from 1897, built of rough-faced sandstone, together with the public privy that shares its listing. A. E. Mascho ran a grocery here until 1913, when another grocer and his wife bought it. It is the oldest of Chandler's listed downtown buildings in this group, about a mile and a half off the old road.

What is Mascho Building and Public Privy?

The building uses the Richardsonian Romanesque style, known for heavy stone walls and round arches, and its walls are rusticated sandstone left rough on the face. It went up in 1897, which makes it the oldest of the historic buildings in this downtown group.

The listing also covers a public privy, as the name says. A public privy is an unusual thing to find on the National Register, and it is worth a look for that alone.

History of Mascho Building and Public Privy

A. E. Mascho, the first owner, used the building as a grocery store. In 1913 he sold it to John Franklin Murphy, also a grocer, and his wife, Ella. Mascho also built the Chandler Bookstore next door in 1903. The building joined the National Register on April 5, 1984.

Visiting Mascho Building and Public Privy: tips

It is less than a mile off the old road. Its current use is not known, so view it from the sidewalk. The Chandler Bookstore is right next door, the Boston Store about 0.2 miles away and the Clapp-Cunningham Building about 0.3 miles off.