• A section of the bowsprint and figurehead on the bow of BALCLUTHA.

    San Francisco Maritime

    National Historical Park California

Aquatic Park Bathhouse Building (Maritime Museum)

A large, ship-shaped building with a red roof on the SF Bay shoreline.

The Aquatic Park Bathhouse building.

NPS

The Bathhouse building was built in 1939 as a joint project of the City of San Francisco and the New Deal Works Progress Administration (WPA), and is the focal point of the Aquatic Park Historic Landmark District. This unique structure was designed in the Streamline Moderne style, a late offshoot of the Art Deco period, and mimics the clean lines of an ocean liner.


 
A section of the mural showing brighly-colored and strange-looking sea creatures and a staircase.

A section of the mural that covers the walls of the Maritime Museum lobby.

NPS

The building is a showcase for art created during the 1930s by Sargent Johnson and Hilaire Hiler. Dazzling murals cover the interior walls.
 
Large group of people gathered in front of the Bathhouse building.

Opening day of the Maritime Museum on May 28, 1951.

Frank Ricci
SAFR A12.24,911.13n

After occupation by troops in WWII from 1941 through 1948, the building became home to the San Francisco Maritime Museum and the country’s first Senior Center. The museum was operated by the San Francisco Maritime Association until it was transferred to the National Park Service in 1978.
 
The Bathhouse lobby and veranda are open daily from 10:00am to 4:00pm. The WPA-era murals in the lobby have been restored. Please stop by to enjoy the vibrant colors depicting a dreamy and strange underwater world. For more information, please call the Visitor Center, 415-447-5000.
 
The Bathhouse building and a section of the east bleachers.
The Bathhouse building and a section of the east bleachers.
NPS
 

Aquatic Park Bathhouse site bulletin

Did You Know?

The Balclutha, a sailing ship, built in 1886, now resides at Hyde Street Pier.

The resources of San Francisco Maritime NHP include six National Historic Landmark vessels. 1886 square-rigger Balclutha, 1890 steam ferryboat Eureka, 1891 scow schooner Alma, 1895 schooner C.A. Thayer, 1907 steam tug Hercules and 1915 steam schooner Wapama. More...