There was an old building in San Francisco that had many different sized swimming pools and diving boards in it. I would like to know any leads that anyone can give me in reguards to any possible names of this building or location. The building was torn down I believe between 1900-1950. I don't know if it could have been constructed for the olympics or if it was just a bunch of recreation pools. Any information would be appreciated no matter how vague.

-- Wendee Reeves (ismiling2@yahoo.com), November 02, 2000

Answers

You're probably thinking of the Sutro Baths. Built in 1896-97, the Baths once featured seven different swimming pools of varying sizes and temperatures. The Baths closed in 1965 and burned down the following year. Its dramatic ruins lie just north of the Cliff House and are a major tourist attraction. The area is now owned by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Planning for a major Visitor Center for the area is currently underway.

For more information, check out the following web site: http://www.cliffhouse.com/history/sutro.htm

Alternately, just type "Sutro Baths" into a search engine like Google.com and you'll get dozens of hits for other Web sites about the Baths.

-- John Martini (martini@slip.net), November 03, 2000.