Today in LES History: The First Free Public Bathhouse is Landmarked
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Photo: Emilio Guerra
On this day in…
2008 – The first free public bathhouse in New York City, located at 538-540 East 11th Street, was designated a landmark. The bathhouse first opened in 1905 in a predominantly German neighborhood, closed in 1958, then converted into a garage that operated until 1995. Today, the historic, neo-Italian Renaissance structure serves as a residential building.
During its heyday, the public bathhouse was equipped with seven bathtubs and 94 showers.
Today in LES History is compiled by Lower East Side History Project, an award-winning non-profit organization which offers research, consulting and daily public and private walking tours. See the full schedule here: http://leshp.org.
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