Photo, Print, Drawing Aquatic Park Bathhouse, 900 Beach Street, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA Drawings from Survey HABS CA-2225

About this Item

Results: 1-12 of 12.

About this Item

Title

  • Aquatic Park Bathhouse, 900 Beach Street, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA

Other Title

  • San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Maritime Museum

Names

  • Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
  • Johnson, Sargent
  • Hiler, Hilaire
  • Ayer, Richard
  • Nunemaker, Charles
  • Glut, John
  • Bufino, Beniamino
  • San Francisco Senior Center
  • Mooser, William, II
  • Mooser, William, III
  • Jackson, Robbyn L., historian
  • De Vries, David G., photographer
  • Lowe, Jet, photographer
  • Croteau, Todd A., project manager
  • Lockett, Dana, delineator
  • Umana, Jairo, delineator
  • Croteau, Todd A., photographer

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1933

Headings

  • -  bathhouses
  • -  naval museums
  • -  bathing
  • -  navies
  • -  African Americans
  • -  Streamline Moderne architectural elements
  • -  Works Progress Administration
  • -  mosaics
  • -  reinforced concrete construction
  • -  California--San Francisco County--San Francisco

Latitude / Longitude

  • 37.806449,-122.424021

Notes

  • -  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

Medium

  • Photo(s): 46
  • Color Transparencies: 22
  • Measured Drawing(s): 12
  • Data Page(s): 10
  • Photo Caption Page(s): 7

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HABS CAL,38-SANFRA,157-

Source Collection

  • Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • ca1404

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HABS CAL,38-SANFRA,157-
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

  • Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
    • If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
  • Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
    • If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
  • Data Pages
    • Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
    • Make note of the Call Number listed above.
    • Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
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      • All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, Sargent Johnson, Hilaire Hiler, Richard Ayer, Charles Nunemaker, John Glut, Beniamino Bufino, et al., De Vries, David G, Jet Lowe, and Todd A Croteau, photographer. Aquatic Park Bathhouse, 900 Beach Street, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA. San Francisco California San Francisco County, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/ca1404/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, C., Johnson, S., Hiler, H., Ayer, R., Nunemaker, C., Glut, J. [...] Umana, J., De Vries, D. G., Lowe, J. & Croteau, T. A., photographer. (1933) Aquatic Park Bathhouse, 900 Beach Street, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA. San Francisco California San Francisco County, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/ca1404/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, et al., photographers by De Vries, David G, Jet Lowe, and Todd A Croteau. Aquatic Park Bathhouse, 900 Beach Street, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/ca1404/>.