Celebrating the Grand Reopening of Austin’s Most Elegant Public Toilet

James Rambin August 3, 2023 Comment

A view of Austin Memorial Park’s tower restroom facility near the main entrance at Hancock Drive. Photo by James Rambin

Last week, the City of Austin marked the triumphant return of what must be one the oldest public restrooms in town at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, located inside an elegant six-sided stone tower near the site’s main entrance at Hancock Drive. The restroom, originally known as the “service tower,” was built across the driveway from the cemetery’s administration building in 1928 by a private firm known as the Austin Memorial Park Corporation, with both stone buildings designed by San Antonio architect and cemetery developer Will Harry Chambers.

A present-day view of the renovated Memorial Park Cemetery restroom near the site’s entrance at the intersection of Hancock Drive and Bull Creek Road. Photo by James Rambin

A view of the cemetery’s main entrance and stone service buildings including the restroom tower, seen here on the left, soon after its opening in 1928. Image: Austin History Center

The City of Austin didn’t acquire the cemetery until 1941, but the tower restroom was part of the deal — according to James H. Wheeler, a landscape architect with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department who oversaw the restoration of the 137-square-foot facility, the restroom’s original design predated city water service, and operated its toilet via a gravity-fed system using a water tank hidden in the tower’s attic.

An ad for the Austin Memorial Park from an April 1928 edition of the Austin American-Statesman. Image: Austin History Center

Although the renovation of the tower took pains to preserve its original exterior appearance due to the cemetery’s historic designation, the interior of the 96-year-old restroom has been thoughtfully updated — the space is now fully accessible with a baby changing station, motion-activated lighting, and other modern comforts.

A view of the tower during renovation — they really had to gut this thing! Image: City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department

The project was fully funded by a 2018 bond proposition for ADA-compliant parks facilities improvements, and is intended to preserve the facility as a community resource for decades to come, according to the Parks Department.

The proposed restroom renovation will provide a family restroom with a locking latch from the inside. The ADA-compliant restroom will include a 4-foot-wide accessible path, new lavatory sink, mirror, floor-mounted toilet, baby changing station, hand dryer, grab bars, fresh ventilation, and LED lighting with occupancy sensors.

All proposed improvements inside the restroom will maintain the historical character while providing updated features. No changes to the exterior façade are proposed. All wood windows, trim, and doors will be refurbished or replaced with like materials in accordance with historic preservation practices.

— City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department

An exterior view of the renovated tower restroom at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery. Photo by James Rambin

A view of the restored tower restroom. Photo by James Rambin

Another view of the restored restroom’s modern features, including a changing table. Photo by James Rambin

It may seem like a small project to celebrate, but there’s really nothing like a good public toilet. If people remember this blog for one thing, we’d prefer it to be our tireless advocacy for abundant and comfortable restroom facilities across the city — they are critical infrastructure for urban life, a key element of vibrant and inclusive public spaces. They’re also fairly rare in America these days, but Austin’s done a decent job shoring up our toilet gap over the last few years by adding new facilities and restoring a number of existing park restrooms in disrepair after decades of deferred maintenance. It’s just a nice bonus when they look like a little castle.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: 78731, architecture, city life, design, historic preservation, history