Inside this ship-shaped, streamline-moderne structure, built as a WPA (Works Progress Administrarion) project, mast sections, jutting spars and ships figureheads are arranged among the colorful fish and gleaming tiles of muralist Hilaire Hiler's expressionist vision of Atlantis. Displays include panels, video, oral history re-creations, models and interactive exhibits.

The Steamship Room illustrates the technological evolution of wind-to-steam power. The Mermaid, the one-man sailboat that transported a solo adventurer across the Pacific from Japan in 94 days, is displayed on the balcony, along with a statue by San Francisco sculptor Beniamino Bufano.

The current third floor exhibit is "Sparks, Waves and Wizards: Communications at Sea." Second floor displays include three photomurals of early the early San Francisco waterfront, lithographic stones, scrimshaw and whaling guns.

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

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 building and museum are currently closed and undergoing an extensive multiyear rehabilitation.The San Francisco Senior Center, which operates out of the lower level of the building, will remain open throughout the construction. For more information on the project, please call the Visitor Center, 415-447-5000.