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South Milwaukee home features 4-toilet communal bathroom

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Posted at 5:24 PM, Jan 19, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-19 17:24:23-05

MILWAUKEE — When you're looking for a new home, two things that are always on the must-have list are a specific number of bedrooms and bathrooms. You may feel that any home you buy has to have at least two bathrooms, or three, or four. But, what if there was a house that had four bathrooms in one?

One South Milwaukee home is popping up all over social media due to the uniqueness of one of its 3 bathrooms.

The home, which was built in 1851 by the Fowle family, features a bathroom that has not one toilet, but 4. That's right, the home has a communal bathroom.

What makes the bathroom even more strange is the lack of partitions. The toilets are simply sitting there next to each other, with nothing separating them. So, while multiple people can use the bathroom at once, they all have to look at each other while they do it.

The home is called the Hawthorne House. It is a farmhouse that was built in 1851 and eventually was donated to the Girl Scouts of America, who made additions including the unique bathroom.

According to Jane DiChristopher, a broker associated with Mahler Sotheby's International Realty in Milwaukee, Herbert Hoover's wife shared tea with girl scouts there.

The previous owner owned the home for 40 years, and the current owner purchased it two years ago with plans of making it into an Airbnb. All that time, there were never partitions between the toilets.

On January 3, the home was put back on the market. Zillow had Hawthorne House listed for $450,000, and DiChristopher said there were around 25 showings in just about one week. Now, however, the owner has accepted an offer.

Since 1851, several people have owned this house and no one added partitions to the bathroom. Could the new owners be the ones to make the addition?

For sale by / sold by Jane DiChristopher Broker Associate with Mahler Sotheby’s International Realty in Milwaukee