Sutro Baths of San Francisco

In 1881, former San Francisco mayor, Adolph Sutro, purchased most of the western headlands of San Francisco with the intention of erecting a splendid baths and recreation site along the Pacific Ocean. Five years later, Sutro Baths, a fabulous, three-acre, glass-enclosed public baths facility opened with much fanfare, creating a veritable urban oasis seven miles from the city's center. With its vivid colors and wonderful detail, this rare color lithograph recalls the energy and excitement that surely pervaded this impressive complex. Grand in promotion as well as scale, the Sutro Baths were advertised by large billboards such as this monumental work, composed of six individually printed pieces, which have been assembled in registration and glued together to form the final work.