Aquatic Park Historic District
Encyclopedia
Aquatic Park Historic District is a building complex on the San Francisco Bay
waterfront in San Francisco, California
, United States. It is located within San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
and is itself a National Historic Landmark
.
The district includes a beach, bathhouse, municipal pier, restrooms, concessions stand, stadia, and two speaker towers.
It houses the San Francisco Maritime Museum in a Streamline Moderne
(late Art Deco
) building built as a public bathhouse
. The building was originally built (starting in 1936) by the WPA
as a public bathhouse, and its interior is decorated with fantastic and colorful murals. The Steamship Room illustrates the technological evolution of maritime power from wind to steam, while the second floor displays include three photomurals of the early San Francisco waterfront, lithographic stones, scrimshaw and whaling guns. The third floor gallery is used for visiting exhibitions and in 2005 exhibited "Sparks", an exhibition of shipboard radio, radiotelephone, and radioteletype technology.
In front of the Maritime Museum is a man-made lagoon on the site of the former Black Point Cove. To the west is the horseshoe shaped Municipal Pier. The lagoon is fronted by a sandy beach and a stepped concrete seawall. To the south is a grassy area known as Victorian Park which contains the Hyde Street cable car turnaround. Hyde Street Pier, though part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, is not part of Aquatic Park Historic District.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1987.
The park is located at the foot of Polk Street, and a minute's walk from the visitor center and Hyde Street Pier, and its beach is one of the cleanest in the state.
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
waterfront in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, United States. It is located within San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located in San Francisco, California, USA. The park includes a fleet of historic vessels, a visitor center, a maritime museum, and a library/research facility...
and is itself a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
The district includes a beach, bathhouse, municipal pier, restrooms, concessions stand, stadia, and two speaker towers.
It houses the San Francisco Maritime Museum in a Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone or as Art Moderne, was a late type of the Art Deco design style which emerged during the 1930s...
(late Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
) building built as a public bathhouse
Public bathing
Public baths originated from a communal need for cleanliness. The term public may confuse some people, as some types of public baths are restricted depending on membership, gender, religious affiliation, or other reasons. As societies have changed, public baths have been replaced as private bathing...
. The building was originally built (starting in 1936) by the WPA
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
as a public bathhouse, and its interior is decorated with fantastic and colorful murals. The Steamship Room illustrates the technological evolution of maritime power from wind to steam, while the second floor displays include three photomurals of the early San Francisco waterfront, lithographic stones, scrimshaw and whaling guns. The third floor gallery is used for visiting exhibitions and in 2005 exhibited "Sparks", an exhibition of shipboard radio, radiotelephone, and radioteletype technology.
In front of the Maritime Museum is a man-made lagoon on the site of the former Black Point Cove. To the west is the horseshoe shaped Municipal Pier. The lagoon is fronted by a sandy beach and a stepped concrete seawall. To the south is a grassy area known as Victorian Park which contains the Hyde Street cable car turnaround. Hyde Street Pier, though part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, is not part of Aquatic Park Historic District.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1987.
The park is located at the foot of Polk Street, and a minute's walk from the visitor center and Hyde Street Pier, and its beach is one of the cleanest in the state.