Radium Sulphur Springs, located on the north side of
Melrose Avenue between
Larchmont and
Gower Street in Los Angeles, California, U.S., was an early-20th-century hot spring that resulted from an unsuccessful attempt to drill for oil. "Discovered" in 1905 and opened as a spa by G. P. Gehring in 1908, the owners claimed that the water was
radioactive
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...
,
germicidal, and blood purifying.
The supposed radioactivity of water was advertised as "liquid sunshine" and was part of the larger
radium fad of the early 20th century. The spa was located in
Colegrove, an electric-railway stop and associated community just south of Hollywood.
History
In 1915, a U.S. government geologist reported that the spring's water temperature was and that the water had measurable levels of calcium, carbonate, phosphate, magnesium, potassium, sodium, and sulfate.
The same year, owners claimed the waters were "wonderfully curative" for diseases and disorders from
catarrh to
neurasthenia. The spring water was also bottled and sold for drinking.
The name changed to Hollywood Mineral Springs in 1924. In 1926, the street address was 5625 Melrose, near Larchmont, and the phone number was GLadstone 2149. Services offered 1928 included "mineral Roman tub, mineral steam, marathon bath, mineral colonic, mineral Scotch douche and massage by a graduate. Baths open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m." The spa endured until around 1929 when the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
and the death of the owner shut down the business.
The site reopened as California Mineral Springs briefly in the late 1950s. Circa 1968, the
California Department of Water Resources reported that the spa was owned by Mr. Harold Brooks, and the source was an test well, probably drilled in 1905, and while the well had once flowed the "water level
asdeclined below land surface and well is now is pumped". The well has reportedly been capped off.
Additional images
See also
*
Radioactive quackery
*
Bimini Baths
*
Tongva Sacred Springs
*
South Hollywood–Sherman Line
*
R (Los Angeles Railway)
*
References
External links
*
{{commons category, Radium Sulphur Springs
1905 establishments in California
1929 disestablishments in California
Balneotherapy
Hancock Park, Los Angeles
History of Los Angeles
Hot springs of California
Public baths in the United States
Springs of Los Angeles County, California
Tourist attractions in Los Angeles