Lurline Baths
Encyclopedia
Brine
Brine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...
baths built in 1894 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...
at the corner of Bush and Larkin streets. The Lurline Baths closed in 1936. The Lurline Pier at Ocean Beach between Anza and Balboa Streets, was built to protect the intake pipe which provided seawater to the Lurline Baths. The pier existed until about 1966.
The Olympic Salt Water Company owned the baths that included a swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
and water slide
Water slide
A water slide is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size...
. Founded in 1892, the company also supplied water to the Olympic Club
Olympic Club
The Olympic Club is a San Francisco, California, athletic club and private social club with three golf courses located at San Francisco's border with Daly City, California. The club's main "City Clubhouse" is located in downtown San Francisco. The club's "Lakeside Clubhouse" is located just north...
as well as smaller commercial baths. Use of sea water for bathing and in swimming pools was common in the 19th century before pollution became an issue. The company built a water distribution system of the intake pipe located 600 feet offshore, almost 4 miles of iron pipe along present-day Geary Boulevard
Geary Boulevard
Geary Boulevard is a major east-west thoroughfare in San Francisco, California, beginning downtown at Market Street near Market Street's intersection with Montgomery Street, and running westbound through downtown, the Civic Center area, the Western Addition, and running for most of its length...
, a water pump, and the reservoir tank located on Laurel Heights. Gravity brought the water to downtown and the customers.
The baths were immortalized by Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
in August, 1897 when he captured 20 seconds of film featuring scenes from the Lurline pool.