PBA Galleries

Famous lithograph image of the Sutro Baths with bathers lined along the railings and spectators in the viewing gallery, a small number of patrons actually in the water of the pools. In 1896, the Sutro Baths was opened to the public as the world's largest indoor swimming pool establishment. Built on western edge of San Francisco by entrepreneur and San Francisco mayor, Adolph Sutro, the breathtakingly vast glass, iron, wood, and reinforced concrete structure was mostly hidden in a small beach inlet below the Cliff House which was also owned by Adolph Sutro. A visitor to the baths had a choice of 7 different swimming pools (one fresh water and six salt water baths ranging in temperatures) and could visit a museum displaying Sutro's large and varied personal collection of artifacts, a concert hall, and at one time, an ice skating rink. During high tides, water would flow directly into the pools from the nearby ocean, recycling the two million gallons of water in about an hour. Both the Cliff House and the former Baths site are now a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and operated by the United States National Park Service.