SUTRO BATHS

Description

Essentials about the Sutro Baths in brief

The Sutro Baths are a ruin of a special kind. When they opened in 1896, they were the largest indoor swimming pool in the world, with pools filled with salt water from the Pacific Ocean directly in front of them. Since a fire in 1966, only the foundation walls of the baths can be visited. The ruins are now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The history of the Sutro Baths

The Sutro Baths are located at the junction of Lands End and Ocean Beach on the west coast of San Francisco. They were once built by the wealthy entrepreneur and former mayor of the city Aldoph Sutro. The Baths had almost unimaginable dimensions, even by today’s standards. They were 152 meters long and 77 meters wide. The six saltwater pools and one freshwater pool had a combined capacity of nearly 7,000 cubic meters. In addition, there were seven slides and a diving board. At high tide, the pools automatically filled with water from the Pacific Ocean, and there was an hourly exchange of the total amount of water. At low tide, a water pump had to step in to circulate the water at least every five hours.

Due to high operating costs, the Sutro Baths ran into financial difficulties over the years. As a result, the baths were converted into an ice skating rink and in 1964 were sold to investors who planned to put an apartment tower in its place. In 1966, the Sutro Baths burned down completely. The cause of the fire was determined to be arson. The real estate developers never implemented their planned project.