The Gina Smith Campbell Bathhouse, also known as the Dell Rapids City Park Bathhouse, is a historic building in Dell Rapids City Park in

Dell Rapids, South Dakota Dell Rapids is a city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 3,996 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is known as "The Little City with the Big Attractions." The city to ...

. It sits on the banks of the Big Sioux River and served a popular bathing beach in the early 19th century. In 1986, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

At the turn of the century, the City of Dell Rapids began drawing up plans for a public park along the Big Sioux River. This park was completed and opened in 1913. A bathing beach was also added at this time, for which Gina Smith Campbell had raised the funds to construct. This beach was widely popular, drawing thousands of visitors from across the region to the park every year. Early bathhouses at the park were temporary wooden structures. Under the direction of the City of Dell Rapids and its park board, the permanent stone bathhouse was completed in 1934. Designed by P. L. Peterson and constructed by workers from the

Civil Works Administration The Civil Works Administration (CWA) was a short-lived job creation program established by the New Deal during the Great Depression in the United States to rapidly create mostly manual-labor jobs for millions of unemployed workers. The jobs were ...

, the building was dedicated to Campbell upon its completion. The bathhouse contained private showers and bathroom facilities. Although the beach closed in 1960 after the construction of a dedicated swimming pool, the bathhouse has survived and now functions as a covered picnic shelter. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 13, 1986, for its architectural detail and its association with the Civil Works Administration. With

Architecture

The bathhouse is a one-story

Sioux quartzite The Sioux Quartzite is a Proterozoic quartzite that is found in the region around the intersection of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa, and correlates with other rock units throughout the upper midwestern and southwestern United States. It was ...

building in the Romanesque Revival architectural style. It has two arched entryways on its north and south faces that lead into the main body, which measures . Above the entrances on both sides are bullseye-style and rectangular openings and decorative stone

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...

s. Originally, it had no roof, but the top of the main body has now been covered with fiberglass to shelter the picnic area underneath; two flanking wings, both measuring , remain open-air. These wings also have simple rectangular entryways. All of the original furnishings and facilities have been stripped out and the building only has picnic tables.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Gina Smith, Bathhouse National Register of Historic Places in Minnehaha County, South Dakota Public baths on the National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures completed in 1934 1934 establishments in South Dakota Swimming venues in South Dakota Romanesque Revival architecture in South Dakota