Sutro Baths

You are approaching the site of what was once the world's largest indoor swimming establishment, a Victorian marvel of glass and iron that spanned three acres. Adolph Sutro, a mining engineer who became one of San Francisco's most influential figures, envisioned this as a place where the working class could access luxury and recreation. Beneath a massive roof of one hundred thousand panes of glass, he constructed seven different pools, ranging from icy cold to steaming hot, all tucked into the craggy Pacific coastline. Visitors could spend their days swimming, diving from high platforms, or exploring a sprawling museum filled with Egyptian mummies and curiosities Sutro gathered from his travels around the world.