San Francisco's Outrageous Bathhouses Closure
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- Опубліковано 24 січ 2023
- Ever wonder why San Francisco has bathhouses? Once a thriving getaway for the working-class public filled with countless amenities, the Sutro Baths were monuments of their time- however, today, they sit as crumbling ruins. Today, we discover their incredible history.
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IT’S HISTORY - Weekly tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.
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Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.
I'm from San Francisco, and when I was a kid seeing the remains of the baths was like seeing ruins from a distant civilization. I get an eerie feeling when I visit them. Great video.
I would get an eerie feeling too....bath houses in SF are notorious. (I was molested by my uncle.)
It's both things
@@billrey8221 You are confusing a lot things.
Yup
I lived there for the past three years and that’s the exact feeling they gave me.. remains of a simpler past that won’t come back
The Sutro Baths must have been SUCH an amazing place to visit! Multiple pools, restaurants, gardens, museums. So cool! Thanks for this video.
I was born and raised in San Francisco. Myself and friends used to go to Sutro’s all of the time (Playland too) during the late ‘50’s/early ‘60’s. We always went through the museum. It had some really neat stuff, mummies, old things from foreign countries, even a Tucker automobile. Later there was a display of things concerning prisons. Confiscated shives (knives), handcuffs, guns and old photos of convicts. Then we would go ice skating. From the ice skating rink you could look through painted windows down to the baths which had been closed and empty for a few years. I had been to the baths once as a little kid and remember the salt water tasted terrible and was cold. The day Sutro’s burned down I could see the smoke from my house in the Sunset district. A sad day.
the baths burned down when i was 5
so i dont remember it
I grew up in the inner Sunset district. We would often hop the N Judah streetcar, to skate at the rink on 47th Ave., near Kirkham Street. When we were lucky enough to have a parent willing to drive us, we loved to skate at the much larger rink at Sutro.
@@catylynch7909 Wow, I had forgotten about the rink on 47th. I don’t think I went there very much. Preferred to go to Sutro’s because of all the other stuff there. Did go roller skating at Playland though. I lived at 42nd and Ulloa and we would catch #38 bus to go to Playland, the Cliff House and Sutro’s. Always a fun time. Luckily Fleishhacker zoo was only two blocks away and was free admission. My friends and I went there all the time.
@@sfeddie1 It's so weird to hear stories from San Francisco long before my time. Not so long really, but the destruction of Sutro baths seems to mark the end of "Victorian" San Francisco. Everything that's still around from that period isn't so much living on as being a well-preserved monument to another time.
@@rottensquid It is sad that there aren’t any these places that older kids can go to enjoy on their own. Today anywhere you could go will expensive to get in. And today’s parents wouldn’t let them go on their own anyway. Too many Loonies out there now. We could take the bus or streetcar, or ride our bikes anywhere without any worries. Sometimes we would ride our bikes all the way across the Sunset to Golden Gate Park and ride around on all the back trails or go to the Aquarium and DeYoung museum. Good, clean no cost fun.
I'm from the city and everytime I see the ruins I have wished for it to have withstood time because of how beautiful it looked. It makes me nostalgic for a time so distant. Whenever you visit you always see people walking on the ruins, it's a fun little activity to do for visitors.
Look at what we as a society built at one time amazing. No one would ever build that anymore.
I have these thoughts, as well. Then I ask the question why is it that in this day and age we don't see construction of this grandeur??
the frontier has been recapitulated maybe. this was a time when a guy got rich off a tunnel and did cool things with his success. it'd be tough enough to own a decent gryo shop these days.
At one time . Before our civilization. All old world buildings were founded. These generationally wealthy 💩👜's occupied these buildings. Dismantled prior technologies.
I just got back home from visiting a San Francisco bathhouse after watching this video. Let me tell you, it was not what I expected. I didn't see any water slides, and come to think, it was weird that there were no ladies there either. The fellas were awfully friendly though.
😂😂😂
Have you found your perfect husband back home?
Lol they actually still have a historic one in miami the venetian its more like a neighborhood pool.
yeah I know what you mean. All the men they’re extremely friendly and for some reason the floors are always slimy for some reason. Come to think of it my toes are always sticking together when I leave and I’m not sure why…
😂😂
I wanna cry every time I think about this loss and it was long gone before I moved here.
You've included photos I've never seen before, thank you!
At 11:47 you refer to Sutro Library at San Francisco State University (part of the California State University System) and you show a picture of the entrance and steps to Lone Mountain Campus, on Turk Street, at the University Of San Francisco (a catholic university operated by the Jesuit Fathers). These are two unrelated institutions. SFSU is a public college. USF is a private college. Good film!
Thanks, now I don't have to point that out.
I'm amazed that there wasn't a lot of damage done to it by the 1906 earthquake. I kept thinking that is what ended it, I was surprised that it survived into the 20th century. Sad that it's gone though, it was pretty. As a society, Americans don't tend to appreciate things until they are gone.
Probably because it’s on solid rock instead of landfill.
Yeah, that was St. Andrew’s Fault.
I got to see it before it burned in the summer of '66. The baths were totally dilapidated, but the museum above it and the ice skating rink were still open. There were indeed a couple mummies in the museum plus various macabre displays like bullets that had been taken out of the bodies of notorious criminals, shivs from Alcatraz and other prisons, etc.
Kids could sneak in the bath buildings, so a fire was inevitable - I was at a Greatful Dead concert at Muir Beach on the beautiful June day it burned, everyone could see the fire from the beach.
Muir beach acid test!
What a great story. Thanks!
SO interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for mentioning the ice skating rink! I had a memory of my Mother talking about skating there, nice confirmation. Sutro was (and is!) extraordinary for his democratic motives. Even the inspiration for the Tunnel was to benefit the working stiffs. The antidote to the "Robber Barons."
@@Ddax-td7qythe rink is described at 9:52
Some great footage of the Sutro Baths in the 1958 film "The Lineup"
That's probably the best movie ever made using SF as a background. Almost every scene is shot in a different part of the city, many that have drastically changed since 1958. The scene of Eli Wallach inside the Sutro Museum actually was the museum and may be the only surviving video footage of the interior.
Whoa: will keep an eye out for that!
Imagine reconstructing the Sutro bathhouse to spec in today's economy would put it's cost in the hundreds of Millions if not Billions. The level of detail not just of the exterior, but of all the interior pieces, the engraving of all the various columns, the water pumping and filtration system, the exotic plants and artwork, the tunneling of the sea water channels. I visited that area few years back and that's a big lot of land and it's right at the cliff of SF. Cool video!
Billions? That’s a bit much! Even the government has trouble spending that much on a structure. But not on bombers!
Thank you for doing a story about Sutro Baths. Not many people know about this since the ruins can not be seen from the road. When you do stumble across it, it is so amazing. Can you do a story about Playland in San Francisco?
The very first ride at Ocean Beach was the Charles ID Looff carousel inside The Hippodrome owned by John Friddle in 1913. It added more amusement rides and became know as Chutes at the Beach in 1914. The Whitney brothers bought it in 1923 and it became Whitney's Playland at the Beach. After George Whitney died the land at Playland was leased to West Coast Shows in 1966. And the amusement park was demolished in 1972 for Condos. The Charles Looff carousel was restored in 1994 and bought back by the City of San Francisco in 1996 and currently operates at Yerba Buena park near the Moscone convention center in downtown SF 👍
Thanks for this video. I used to live down the hill from Sutro Heights Park and would jog there. Still today, I enjoy walking there, especially during sunset and overlooking Ocean Beach the outstretched and vast ocean. In fact, I remember, after I moved from NYC, I found a spot beneath the park to picnic and enjoy the unique sense of being in San Francisco yet surrounded by nature. In recent years I have led a couple hikes for Gay & Lesbian Sierrans starting in Sutro Park, above the bath ruins and along Land's End trail. It's especially interesting to learn more about Sutro, his engineering skills and contribution to the history of the city. Thanks again!
When visiting SF in the late 1990's I made a special trip by bus to see the ruins. I had no idea what the Sutro Baths were at the time. Just a note on my guide map and one of many places I wanted to get to over that weekend. Definitely had an other-worldly feeling when I saw the ruins for the first time.
My mom was born in 1923. I remember her mentioning the Sutro baths, but not much more. I visited playland, and took ice skating lessons when I was about 8 years old in 1964. The pool I remember was Fleishacker (sp?) Largest outdoor pool in the world with saltwater. It was adjacent to the zoo.
I was born and raised in San Francisco. My aunt used to take me to Playland and to Sutro Baths when I was a kid. I swear I remember pools there, but I suspect my memory might be playing tricks on me, In any case, I definitely remember the ice skating rink and the mummies and the vastness of the place.
I was there the night it burned down. Not that long before I was there with my parents and I too remember pools,so? I can date a ride on the tram it was my 6th birthday (1960) and my dad got me a ticket for under 5 as it was cheaper. The tram operator said I was big for 5…..point being sometime between 1960 and 66 I saw pools with people swimming.
I was at Playland at the beach with my Dad on the day of the fire. We walked up the hill and watched it for quite a while. This fire was just 1 month before my 12 birthday.
Few people have heard of this place? When I visited from LA with my ex about 15 years ago the old Sutro Bath House was one of our main destinations. But then old funky derelict places were a main draw of ours. And visiting what little is left of it was very cool. Don’t expect a bath but more just a wandering hike around something that used to be spectacular and Huge! It’s a piece of history.
Adolph Sutro was very quiet about his philanthropy for the children of San Francisco.
He owned a huge chunk of San Francisco!
Correction: The water for the bathhouse did not come from the San Francisco Bay but rather the Pacific Ocean.
My memory of Sutro's as kid in the late 1950's were the models made by prisoners of I think Alcatraz. A big Ferris wheel made out of match sticks, amazing. As an 8-9 year old boy the whole place was amazing. There was an amusement park south of the cliff house with a diving bell that took you under water, slides, a flat wheel that you sat on and it would spun around the object was to see who could stay on the longest, Fair food, etc. The area held great memories.
Wow! Cool!
Yes, the Ferris wheel made of matchsticks. I'd forgotten that.
First time to San Francisco we stumbled upon the site not knowing what it was but walking the tunnel and the ruins thinking how cool it was. Been back twice since then and both times we've been back and walked the footprint. I'm fascinated by stuff like this.
Excellent history - thanks!
San Francisco has some interesting and crazy history
I was at the Sutro Baths with my parents a few times in the 1960's as a little boy. I remember it as a shabby place, a mere shadow of what it might have been decades before.
Very nicely done.
I lived in S.F. for many years and always enjoyed exploring these ruins. It really does feel like discovering a hidden treasure
Thank you 😊
I grew up in the Bay and my friends and I spent many hours exploring the Baths. As it will always be a favorite spot,
I have to stop and see them whenever I’m in The City ❤
Loved this. As a child, I lived on 45th and Geary Blvd. This area and Sutro Park are where I played often. Did you ask for ideas? On the cliff from Sturo park down to The Cliff House, there are old gun emplacements hidden on the cliff. They were camouflaged with concrete sculpted to look like the rocks of the cliff. As kids in the early 60s we played on and in them. I was told that they were of WWII vintage. That seems right, but I really do not know the story of the emplacements. If you looked into it, it could make for an interesting show about SF history.
Oh, yeah. San Francisco was armored and manned for when: not if, but when the Japanese came.
Huell Howser has a show about the submarine net base. A dear friend of mine was stationed there, and enjoyed joking, they drilled us on putting out the nets (massive metal grid all the way across under the Golden Gate: seriously!) and reeling back the nets, but they never told us what to do if we caught one! (a Jap sub)
Awesome video TY!!!🙌🏻As a former Bay Area resident, have visited a few times. Such a wondrous place, seaside! But always had a eerie feeling there. 🫣 The rawness of sea so close,sounds,smells. Blew my mind thinking of the many 1000’s of people congregated there for relaxation and healing salt air. Memorable place, no doubt. Really informative vlog! Thanking ya. 👍😁😎Oh yea, obviously a NewSubber here. ☺️😎
I’ve always been fascinated by Sutro Bath and Adolph Sutro himself. Thanks for the great video!
Passed by these a couple years ago. It's neat how it looks and feels like some old ruins even though it's from the 20th century.
It's from the 19th Century!
Its history has always fascinated me.
It should, because it was completely fabricated. Wealthy usurpers. They didn't build any old world buildings. Liars........
Great video. I’m from SF . That day in June ‘ 66 I lived in Twin Peaks , we could smell the smoke coming from Sutros fire. What a tragedy even if it was on purpose. A memory to share: I learned to ice skate there. Fabulous view in the rink.
Wow, I have been to the Sutro Bath's many times but never realized how extensive they were as shown at the :08 mark, amazing.
Bathhouses are such an outdated concept today, but nevertheless very interesting! Must have been a crazy cool experience inside the Sutro bathhouse… all of that awesome early 1900s architecture, lots of plants, the sounds, the smells…
No they aren't. What is outdated is our world. Brutal architecture is outdated, no one likes it. No one likes everything we do. We need the old ways back. That is what is progressive.
Swam there as a child in the '50s - wonderful!! Hot, Warm and Cold pools (smaller) plus a HUGE one with the slide, and another smaller (and much deeper) one with the diving platforms. I remember older boys diving down in the cold pool and bringing up a crab! Later, when the pools were closed, we skated on the ice rink and could look through gaps in the whitewash on the glass across from the seats and see the old, and now empty, pools that I remembered. Too sad about their demise........I have a "rental swim suit" from there to this day........
Fascinating - use to see the ruins, but I don’t think I thought about what it was. ! Amazing visions this man had! Thanks very much.
My family a I loved walking these ruins .
I've been going there since 1972 when I worked as a carnival barker in the ball-toss for Playland At The Beach. That was just before it closed down forever. The height of my engagement with the area was when Cliff House was still open in the '80s and '90s--- the Sunday brunch buffet there was superlative. I believe the camera obscura is still there. Even then, nearby Lincoln Park was overrun with disturbing people living rough.
I've been to San Francisco a couple of times and I've seen the remains up close and its fascinating
I never heard of this before. Interesting history, thank you!
Me neither. I thought he was talking about the bathhouses that were closed because of the AIDS epidemic.
I can only imagine how grand it was when it first open, we would need to time travel over 100 years to see it in its glory
As a resident of San Francisco during the eighties and nineties, I often drove to the parking area on the bluff above the former Sutro Bathhouses. The view inspired awe and a lot of questions about what happened to this place and why wasn’t it still there. Thank you for this informative video.
I live a few hours away from SF, and I had never heard of the baths until I read a young adult novel whose characters went ice skating there and peeked through the windows to see the abandoned swimming pools. Later, somewhere around 1977 or '78 my sister and I spent a day in the city including a trip out to the coast. We saw the ruins below, and unlike all the more recent photos on the internet, back then the outlines of all the pools were still visible, and the remains of the bleachers on the hillside were very clear. I don't remember whether there was a way to actually climb down and explore the ruins at that time. We explored what was left of the Sutro Heights gardens, visited the Musee Mecanique, had a drink at the Cliff House, and then left the area.
I love your programs. I would have never known about this place if it wasn;t for your show. Thank you for doing this. I enjoy it very much.
Yeah, my sister used to go ice skating at the Sutro Baths after they closed the bathhouse down. I only saw it as a ruin, because my sister is 10 years older than me. In the back part of the Cliff House Restaurant, they still had some of the old Sutro Baths exhibits, like the Musee Mecanique (they moved that down to Fisherman's Wharf) and the Magic Camera, across from Seal Rock, which was free when I used to take my mom to lunch there.
Great to see Duke from Hawaii as I'm watching this from Palolo Valley on Oahu. My Grandfather was born in 06' after the earthquake and fire. My Dad was born in 29' in SF and took us to Playland as youngsters. Then one day they knocked it down and put condominiums and the safe way.God bless you and your families Aloha and amen
Thank you for adding so much more fascinating details to the other documentary I saw. The engineering aspects astound me and your photos are wonderful. My imagination is peaked.
Almost 500K. Well done dood! Love the content :)
I would've loved to visit, granted I probably wouldn't even if I went back in time unless they were very accepting of POC. It looks like it was so much fun. I visited the Cliff House a few years ago and visited the ruins (weird to say about something still relatively not very old) but didn't know the history. There are people still alive who remember visiting! That's crazy and scary to think how quickly time passes and a reminder that everything becomes irrelevant/forgotten to newer generations.
I see what you did there at the end of your documentary Mr. Socash, LOL!
I started out looking at old picture books for a wide range of things as a child when I had trouble learning how to read. The books with old historic photos captured my interest and I've seen many past things that bring on a sense of nostalgia. The Sutro Baths is one of those places.
I like to imagine the return of the Sutro Baths, but then reality butts in and I understand that it (and anything else like it anywhere) would be doomed to failure. The baths served a public desire that largely doesn't exist anymore. There are many people who'd happily pay to use such a place, but as with the historic Sutro Baths as they declined, not nearly enough to support such an endeavor.
Sometimes I think we've grown as a society in ways that deprive us of good things that were once taken for granted. One of those things is the sense of community and public interaction (virtual doesn't count). In our modern era, for many reasons, people don't want to go to places like this. Notice the decline of malls lately?
But anyway, rhapsodizing about nostalgia aside, thank you for another great video documentary. I'm always looking forward to your next entry. You cover things that tend to be skipped or glossed over and give the subjects a deserved closer look. Thank you.
I live in the Sunset and go to the ruins all the time. It is definitely a sight to see. At around 11:47
you state San Francisco State University, but pictured is the University of San Francisco USF.
Well done. Thank you!
I was at Sutton Baths as a child. I always remember the thick heavy woolen bathing suits and the safety pin with the locker number on it.
Great times.
Used to go there n play in the ruins. Now the Cliff House is gone 😢
We did too. I haven't been to that area in ages so I didn't know the Cliff House is gone 😒 I was last there about 20 years ago with a friend to have a drink and watch the sun set...
The Cliff House is not gone. The restaurants lost their leases with the National Park Service but new restaurants are going in soon.
@@laurenj8888 I meant the old restaurant but I didn't know they were going to have another restaurant in there. Isn't it like a museum of the old carnival stuff right now? I haven't seen it for so long.
A scene from “Harold and Maude” was filmed there. I found the spot during a visit in the 70’s.
Nice history of one of my favorite places. Thanks.
Once again, a truly fine piece...you manage to 'get under the skin' of the Subject...I was first aware of the Sutro Extravaganza thriugh an episode of 'Abandoned Engineering', but that barely scratched the Surface...thank you SO much...dgo/uk
I was hiking with a friend in this area after dusk, it was dark but not completely. We stopped to take a rest when I noticed a shadow of a person walk by us, but when I took a second glance, there was not a single person around. I knew I saw someone & to this day believe it was ghost at the old Sutro Baths
My younger brother and I along with some neighbors when skating at the Sutro Baths Ice Skating Rink in June or July 1955, I now understand was just one year before the place burned down. This was the first time I had ice skated. I only recall that it was a very large building.
Ryan, it amazes me that so many people want to erase history instead of cherishing it. I understand the value of land and what is possible to do with it but some things should be left alone. It reminds me of the saying that history repeats itself but if you don't leave a few things standing then you don't know what you missed by looking at the past.
I’ve always wondered specifically what that concrete box room with the doorway (smack in the middle of the photo at the 11:11 mark of the video) is. On a grim but sad note, the last time we trekked down there we found a dead guy in there. It was the same day the emergency units were there (by theCliff House) for an unrelated death on the beach from a shipwreck, so we reported it to one of the firemen. The date was 1/21/19
In the days before laptops were everywhere, I'd always put together a folder of "portable paperwork" to take with me on vacation -- and when I went to San Francisco I'd spend time parked in my rental car in the lot there at Merrie Way (before it was all paved up the way it is now), working in the place that I called my "West Coast Office". When I needed a break, I'd get out and hike down the steps to the ruins. I always did that with more than just a little trepidation, though, worried that I might have the unpleasant experience you did. Tall weeds, wall stubs criss-crossing the ground, pits of algae-stagnant water. I'm so sorry it happened to you.
I grew up just south of Sutro Baths and visited the ruins many times. My grandparents had stories of using the baths when it was open. It’s quite the developed park now. Sadly the Cliff House & Louis’s restaurant have been closed since Covid. About 10 years ago there was a river otter that took up residents in the water of the ruins. He stayed for quite a while & residents named him Sutro. I saw him too. I’ve often wondered what became of him. I didn’t know the other enterprises Adolph Sutro had. Thanks for the education.
Great vid thank you
I was there in the mid to late 80s when I served in the Navy on Treasure Island. It was so sad to see the ruins knowing how beautiful they once were.
I visited Sutros Tunnel in 1958 when I was 5. My dad took a picture of me standing in front of it. It had bars in front. I could hear a waterfall inside.
Wow. Your Dad knew what it was about! I went to a public event the now private owners had sometime mid-1990's. I had a lovely photo of the tunnel run down, but very picturesque. Owners have since prissied up the portal, not an improvement in my book. Hope I find my picture someday....
When I was little kid in the later part of the 70's my parents had a family friend Tom Schwartz who lived in the Berkeley hills with a great house & view of the bay . He had a metal spiral staircase we loved to play on . He had a big picture of the sutro baths with people swimming & hanging out in their old time swim attire . I always liked that picture . Later in life i asked my dad about it . He told me what it was & where it once stood . I found it hard to believe . It still brings back fond memories .
Loved your final question
In the 1950's we visited there and ice skated and looked at the strange objects in the museum. The eerie sight of the empty pools could still be seen through the painted over windows.
Have you covered the Manhattan project? Honestly that could be a whole mini series.
Thank you for the history! I remember the ice skating rink and artifacts housed upstairs - more recently we walked/climbed the ruins and nearby caves & trails (Lands End) - the improvements are amazing. Just a note- you mentioned the Sutro Egyptian Exhibit is at San Francisco State University (Museum Studies). SFSU is a part of the California State University Systems, however, the image shown in the video was of the University of San Francisco (a Jesuit university). I appreciate the research and informative work! Will check out the other videos. Best!
When I was young my dad took us there inside the building to see the pools. It didn't have any swimming at the time and I think it was planning to close soon but my parents used to go there. There was also a beautiful pool in Alamda near the beach and also some nice rides my parents went to. When I was a kid Playland at the Beach was open and I went to some birthday parties there. Such a different world then.
Yes that was Neptune Beach!! Such a shame there’s nothing left, it looked so amazing!
Yup, I grew up in the early 50's in the inner Sunset district. I remember my grandparents taking us out to Whitney's Playland at the Beach many times, and also Neptune Beach in Alameda. Gosh so sad those places don't exist anymore. I remember seeing the smoke from the fire in June of 1966 when Surtros burned down. Also saw them demolish the beautiful Fox Theater on Market street in 1963. There was no 24/7 news in those days, or the internet or computers yet. My biggest shock was biking out to Playland in December of 1972 from my house in the Sunset, and saw just 2 complete blocks of dirt where Playland at the beach once stood. Was just completely shocked
Nice work. I grew up a couple of blocks from Sutro Museum and spent a lot of time there in the 1950s and early 1960s, ice skating, playing the arcade games, and marveling over the truly unique collection of oddball stuff that was still there in those days. My buddies and I watched it burn from the old Sutro estate on the cliffs above the museum. I could tell you many stories.
Very cool!
Honestly had no idea that San Francisco is synonymous with bath houses. This is the first I’ve heard it! Very intriguing though, thanks for sharing! Some of the photos remind me of The Biltmore outside of Asheville, NC. There’s a pretty extravagant and deep bath in that mansion where they used to pump spring water directly from mountain streams in somewhat similar fashion. Cool stuff.
Great video and I'm sorry to correct you on one thing for the tunnel. It's not 3,600' long it's over 21,000' long! We'd love to have you visit us sometime and see our progress into restoring the tunnel and site.
5:04 I love seeing old city maps. The park surrounding the cliff house is now residential housing. The fishing rock is no longer accessible by gangway. The ferry terminals no longer exist. The windmills are gone.
Hi. Great article. I used to ice skate there until the fire. It was a sad time. We still had the rink on 48th where I worked till it closed Thanks
Wow what timing I was just there this past weekend
Oh really?
I grew up in San Francisco. My sister and I took ice skating lessons there. You couldn’t see the rest of the baths from the ice skating rink. Our Ice Skating instructor asked to show it to us. It was really moldy and falling apart with bird poop everywhere. . There were many broken window panes in the ceiling. Then I remember when it caught fire. We watched the cliffs above as the huge glass atrium crashed into the building.
I'm from Berkeley and we still have several bathhouses currently around the bay area. They are currently used for strictly males for reasons you could probably guess...🌼 But I'm so happy to learn about this history. My friends husband lost his job, at The Cliff House sadly did not survive quarantine restrictions and watching this video makes me all the .ore sad that such an amazing historical gem is gone 😢
Now that is just Outragious!
My grandma used to go there and when I was younger you could see the remains of the pools, I remember the museum, it had a Tucker Car, very cool.
I definitely thought this would be about different buildings, but I was very interested to learn about the Sutro Baths
I had no ideas there were water slides in the 1890's.
when I grew up in SF I remember playland and the huge ice-skating rink
Proud 4th generation San Francisco native.
All of them swam at Suto Bath's. I'm told I was taken, but don't remember. They were open until 1966.
I DO remember Playland and swimming in Fleishhacker Saltwater Pool until it closed in 1971. It was right next to the zoo. My beloved Fleishhacker Pool is now a zoo parking lot.😢
LORD! I love this city😭
I'm from the area and always knew of their existence. I've been to the Cliff House, which is now a restaurant. I never knew all the dirty details!
Kind of like Fire Island's famous baths, aye? LOL Simply amazing!
Pls do more forgotten California history videos
Born in sf in 1956 the Sutro Baths have always fascinated me. The lines for the aerial tram were still there.
The host’s salacious line at the end about “sf bathouses” offended me.
But if you want any info on them…..
Oh I would have loved to have been able to visit it back then
This was honestly more entertaining than the Cliff house video.
The Sutro Bathhouse reminds me of The Woodrow Gardens on Mission St. back when they had wooden sidewalks.
Near playland by the beach. Later? Hayward had a smaller one, still massive. The Plunge
I lived in SF awhile back and been to the cliff house and the area where the Sutro Bath was located and always wondered what it was. Which of today’s billionaires would develop such places for the common man.
I remember a couple years back walking at night through that area . Theres a huge long cave like tunnel you can walk through there. Its very eriee.
L.A. had an indoor hot spring pool house. I think it was call Bimini.
LOL. I thought from the title this was going to be about an entirely different kind of bathhouse.
Me too with notorious history of bathhouses in Frisco thought Randy play place for men.🫣