Aquatic Park Bathhouse, Beach Street, West of Polk Street, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA

Name changed from Maritime Museum to Aquatic Park Bathhouse on 7-29-02.

See also HALS CA-113 (Aquatic Park) for documentation of the surrounding landscape.

Significance: San Francisco's Aquatic Park was one of California's largest WPA construction projects. Time Magazine, Feb. 6, 1939, described the project as "one of the most sophisticated WPA building jobs in the U.S." The bathhouse is the most notable structure in the complex and exemplifies the streamlined Moderne style of architecture. Several distinguished artists were responsible for the adornment of the exterior and interior of the bathhouse. While the artwork of the Aquatic Park Complex is notable for its quality, it is also significant due to its surreal and abstract forms not commonly found in WPA projects. The work of artist Sargent Johnson is incorporated into the entrance and back porch of the bathhouse. Johnson was a nationally recognized sculptor and one of only two black artists in California who participated in the WPA program. Under the direction of Hilaire Hiler, an internationally recognized muralist, Johnson depicted abstract and stylized forms of sea life and nautical references by incising lines into green slate panels that surround the main entrance of the building and provide contrast against the white concrete of the building's walls. Directly below the slate panels are multilevel fountains lined with colorful tile mosaics. The design for the back porch continues with the use of maritime motifs rendered in multicolored tile mosaics. The public and the critics were overwhelmingly impressed with the artists work when building was officially opened on January 22, 1939.

Survey number: HABS CA-2225

Building/structure dates: 1936-1939 Initial Construction

Building/structure dates: ca. 1975 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 2006-2016 Subsequent Work

National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 84001183

bathhouses naval museums bathing navies african americans streamline moderne architectural elements works progress administration mosaics golden gate aquatic bathhouse aquatic park bathhouse beach beach street polk polk street san francisco san francisco county california images black history month black history month reinforced concrete construction richard ayer beniamino bufino todd a croteau david g de vries john glut hilaire hiler historic american buildings survey robbyn jackson sargent johnson dana lockett jet lowe william mooser charles nunemaker san francisco senior center jairo umana photo navy us navy building plans architectural diagrams library of congress national register of historic places

1939 - 1980

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html