When you hear "bathhouse" and "San Francisco," you may think immediately of Sutro Baths, or the city's gay bathhouses of the 1970s and '80s. But at the turn of the 20th century, a different kind of bathhouse was operating on the northwest corner of Larkin and Bush streets. Called Lurline Baths, it boasted pools, slides, and seawater pumped to the Tenderloin from a pier at Ocean Beach.
Lurline Baths was constructed in 1894 by The Olympic Salt Water Company, and cost nearly $200,000 to build. Fresh saltwater was piped from the ocean four miles along Geary Boulevard to Laurel Heights, from which point it flowed by gravity to both the Olympic Swimming Club and Lurline to supply the facilities' swimming pools.
The inside of the bathhouse boasted two water slides and a large unheated communal swimming pool, as well as hot baths which were apparently heated by steam engines from the nearby Sutter Street Cable Company powerhouse.
Interior of the Lurline bathhouse. (Photo: UC Berkeley / Bancroft Library)
Completely full-service, Lurline had bathing suits for rent which were included in the 30-cent cost of admittance. As stated in an 1895 ad taken out in the San Francisco Call, "No Father nor Mother will deny that a daily dip in the pure ocean water of the Lurline baths will induce health and happiness."
The natatorium (or main swimming pool) was reserved for ladies twice a week from 9am until noon, and boasted hot air dryers (for women bathers only).
Lurline bathhouse achieved fame outside of San Francisco due in part to this video, made by Thomas Edison in 1897 (four years before his death). Motion picture cameras had just been invented, and wouldn't include sound for another 30 years:
The bathhouse was also the site of worldwide swimming competitions. In a June 1904 edition of the San Francisco Call, it was stated that a record was set at Lurline. Watched by a crowd of a thousand spectators, Australian competitor Frank Galley swam 220 yards in two minutes 36 seconds in an event put on by the Pacific Athletic Association.
In 1936, Lurline closed its doors, citing competition from other bathhouses and a lack of much-needed maintenance.
The northwest corner of Bush and Larkin streets today. (Image: Google)
Today, in a far cry from its history as a saltwater oasis, the northwest corner of Bush and Larkin is home to Firestone Auto Care, which has stood on the corner since the early 1990s. But if you hold a conch to your ear and close your eyes, there's a chance you might be able to recall the corner's salty past.
