The Lurline Baths were public
salt water
Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...
bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
s built in 1894 in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, at the corner of Bush and Larkin streets. The Lurline Baths closed in 1936. The Lurline Pier, also known as the Olympic Pier, at Ocean Beach between Anza and Balboa Streets was built to protect the intake pipe that provided seawater to the baths. The pier existed until about 1966.
The Olympic Salt Water Company owned the baths, which included a
swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...
and
water slide
A water slide (also referred to as a flume, or water chute) is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides require riders to si ...
. Founded in 1892, the company also supplied water to the
Olympic Club
The Olympic Club is an sports club, athletic club and private social club in San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
First named the "San Francisco Olympic Club", it is the oldest sports club, athletic club in the United States. Established o ...
as well as smaller commercial baths. Use of sea water for bathing and in swimming pools was common in the 19th century before pollution became an issue. The company built a water distribution system of the intake pipe located 600 feet offshore, almost 4 miles of iron pipe along present-day
Geary Boulevard, a water pump, and the reservoir tank located on Laurel Heights. Gravity brought the water to downtown and the customers.
[Kelley, Tim Water Resources Center Archives Newsletter "Olympic Salt Water Company"](_blank)
Vol,6. No.3, October 1999 Accessed July 16, 2010
The baths were immortalized by
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...
in August 1897 when he captured 20 seconds (50 feet) of film featuring scenes from the Lurline pool; the main feature is the water slide with some going down in a sitting position and others lying down, head first or feet first.
See also
*
Sutro Baths
Notes
External links
Thomas A. Edison film of the baths
Landmarks in San Francisco
Swimming venues in San Francisco
Public baths in the United States
{{SanFrancisco-struct-stub