Bath House Cultural Center (Lincoln Street Bath House)

The former Lincoln Street Bath House is one of just four municipal bath houses still standing in Chicago. The city built 19 public bath houses between 1894 and 1918 because indoor plumbing and bathing facilities were not common in urban dwellings at the time. (Several private Turkish and Russian bath houses also operated nearby, offering facilities that one might today find in a spa.) The Lincoln Street Bath House is arguably the most architecturally interesting of these baths, inspired by the architecture of ancient Roman monuments. Chicago Park District took over operation of the city-owned bath houses in the 1970s. Today, the building has been carefully renovated into an upscale community and business meeting space after serving as a private residence for decades. The monumental main room has been redesigned as a serene yet functional space complete with state-of-the-art audio/visual capabilities and a deluxe catering kitchen.