The pool complex that once had slides and trapezes and accommodated 10,000 people is now in ruins – but you can visit

The ROMANS weren’t the only ones who knew how to have fun in the baths.

Sutró Bathsa former public pool complex in San Francisco, California, offered residents the opportunity to play with their community.

The swimming pool, built in 1894, was opened to the public in 1896 and had capacity for up to 10,000 people at the same time.

On-site services offered up to 20,000 bathing suits and up to 40,000 towels for rent.

For better accessibility to baths, Sutro kept fees low.

At the time, Franciscans paid just five cents to take the train and 25 cents to swim, which included the cost of a swimsuit and towel.

Millionaire Adolph Sutro built the privately owned public bathhouse with the vision of a “healthy, recreational, and inexpensive swimming facility for thousands of San Franciscans.”

The installation resembled a water park, with slides, trapeze, trampolines and even high diving.

An underground turbine pump changed the water every five hours when San Francisco Bay was at low tide.

Sutro included seven saltwater pools, which were housed inside a Greek-style glass-roofed house.

Although the public attraction was built as a gift to San Francisco’s working class, Sutro spared no expense in making the swimming experience luxurious.

Sutro organized music and dance competitions in the baths to amuse and entertain guests.

The bath, once the largest indoor pool in the world, is now in ruins.

At the time, the baths proved to be an architectural marvel, measuring almost 150 meters long and 75 meters wide.

After the Great Depression, the baths became less commercially successful, despite establishing themselves as a cultural landmark.

Attempts were made to convert the baths into an ice skating rink.

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In 1964, a developer attempted to build a waterfront apartment complex on the site and partially demolished part of the baths in the process.

In the midst of demolition, however, an unexpected fire left the remaining structures in ruins.

After the fire, the developer abandoned its plans to build the apartment complex.

In 1976, the Sutro Bath ruins became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Entrance to Sutro Baths and Sutro Heights Park is free and open to the public.

Travelers can visit Sutro Baths 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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