The Royalty Building is one of the architectural legacies of oilman E.W. Marland, a Mission-styled structure designed by architect John Duncan Forsyth, who also created the two buildings to its east. Marland's fascination with southwest Indian architecture was reflected in the block, and the building, which reportedly cost $100,000 to construct, was planned in 1926 but not realized until 1929, after Marland had suffered severe financial problems and resigned from the Marland Oil Company in May 1929. From new offices there he intended to build a new oil empire. The lower floor was always used for retail: Piggly Wiggly occupied the corner until the 1940s, offering the then-new and popular practice of customer self-selection of groceries, and at its grand opening customers sampled 298 kinds of cakes while ladies received flowers and gentlemen cigars. The store to the east was originally leased to Sears, Roebuck and Company, which advertised more than 6,000 items, with clothing and sporting goods on the first floor and automotive and household accessories in the basement, before leaving after only a few years. That space was then occupied by the Harold J. Barnes Shoe Store and later became a paint and wallpaper store for almost 50 years. The top floor contained twenty-eight offices, including six for Marland's personal use, four for the E.W. Marland Company, and eight for Southland Royalty Company, along with offices for Forsyth, several attorneys, and small oil companies. Decorative tile enhancing the second story and the Fourth Street entrance likely came from Mexico, where Marland held large land interests, and Aztec and Mayan influence is especially visible around the doorway there. In the late 1940s ownership passed to the Daniel J. Donahoe family; Donahoe had come to Ponca City shortly after the 1893 land run and became prominent in business and real estate, and his heirs continue to steward the building.