The Last Word

Part of being a historian is accepting that your work is never complete. Inevitably, after completing an article or book, a new piece of information emerges to add more detail or even change your original perspective. In our last issue, John Martini’s article walked us through the winding history of the Sutro Baths swimsuits. He remembered reading – somewhere – that at the turn of the 20th century, the suits were boiled in seawater and then dried in a cabinet heated to 212 degrees. Since publication, John re-discovered the source material: a September 23, 1900, San Francisco Examiner article that dives further into the sanitary practices at several San Francisco bathhouses. Sutro Baths, it turns out, rinsed their suits in cold water and washed towels in boiling water; both were then placed in the 212-degree drying room for 15 minutes. After inspecting the methods at Sutro Baths and similar institutions, the Board of Health prepared a new ordinance to regulate sanitation at public bath houses and ensure that towels and suits were “scientifically disinfected.” The article provides a bonus detail: daily average attendance at Sutro Baths “ranged from 500 to 8,000, the latter on Sundays and holidays.”

Sutro Baths, circa 1900. (Courtesy of a Private Collector / wnp4/wnp4.0298)

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