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Lurline Pier - Ocean Beach

 

The Lurline Pier at Ocean Beach between Balboa and Cabrillo Streets was built to protect the intake pipe which provided seawater to the Lurline Baths and Olympic Club Baths. The pier existed until  1967.

 

The Lurline Baths were public salt water baths built in 1894 in San Francisco, California at the corner of Bush and Larkin streets. The Lurline Baths closed in 1936.

 

Olympic Salt Water Company owned the baths that included a swimming pool and water slide. Founded in 1892, the company also supplied water to the Olympic Club as well as smaller commercial baths. Use of sea water for bathing and in swimming pools was common in the 19th century before pollution became an issue. The company built a water distribution system of the intake pipe located 600 feet offshore, almost 4 miles of iron pipe along present-day Geary Boulevard, a water pump, and the reservoir tank located on Laurel Heights. Gravity brought the water to downtown and the customers.

 

The Olympic Baths eventually switched to City Water  and the Pump was left derelict till it's removal in 1972. The Olympic Baths are still open today. For members only, of course.  ;-)

 

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