James Lick Baths as photographed in 2008

The James Lick Baths (also known as the People's Laundry Building and 165 Tenth Street) in the South of Market District of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, California is a

San Francisco Designated Landmark This is a list of San Francisco Designated Landmarks. In 1967, the city of San Francisco, California, adopted Article 10 of the Planning Code, providing the city with the authority to designate and protect landmarks from inappropriate alteration ...

combining aspects of

public bathing Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

and

self-service laundry A self-service laundry, coin laundry, or coin wash, is a facility where clothes and some household textiles are washed and dried without much personalized professional help. They are known in the United Kingdom as launderettes or laundrettes, ...

History

In 1890 working class residents of San Francisco did not have indoor plumbing. Built in 1890 by the

James Lick James Lick (August 25, 1796 – October 1, 1876) was an American real estate investor, carpenter, piano builder, land baron, and patron of the sciences. The wealthiest man in California at the time of his death, Lick left the majority of his es ...

estate as a free public bath house, it housed a men’s bath with forty bathtubs in changing rooms in the large north wing, and a women’s bath with twenty tubs in changing rooms in the smaller south wing. The James Lick Baths were originally lavish in conception and finish. Water was pumped from the facility’s own wells, heated in boilers in the sunken boiler room, and hot and cold water was pumped into 10,000 gallon tanks in the tower. Bathers could open the taps at each tub in the bathing halls for a customized mix of hot and cold water. After extensive damage in the 1906 earthquake and fire the building was repaired and continued as a bath until 1919. From 1919 until 1973 it was The People’s Laundry, an industrial laundry, followed by a variety of offices, workshops, and stores. The two main bath spaces were divided and circulation in the building became convoluted. A wall at the base of the tower was demolished, leaving one side unsupported. The building became a San Francisco Designated Landmark in 2004. In 2008 Gelfand Partners Architects acquired the building and renovated the ground floor to be its office.J.K. Dineen and Blanca Torres
"Gelfand shells out $3M for James Lick building"
''

San Francisco Business Times American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes ''The Business Journals'', which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States with each market ...

'', March 8, 2009.

References

External links

NoeHill.com: San Francisco Landmark #246: James Lick Baths
{{South of Market, San Francisco Former public baths Office buildings in San Francisco Former laundry buildings South of Market, San Francisco Buildings and structures completed in 1890 1890 establishments in California San Francisco Designated Landmarks Public baths in the United States