Oliver Bath House

TheOliver Bath Houseis located at 38 S 10th Street in theSouth Side Flatsneighborhood ofPittsburgh,Pennsylvania. Built in 1915 in theTudor RevivalandGothic Collegiatearchitectural style, the building today serves as a publicswimming pool.
The first plans for thebath housebegan in March 1903 withHenry W. Oliver.Oliver was an Irish immigrant who served in theCivil Warfighting for theUnion. Following the war, Oliver became a wealthy Pittsburgh based industrialist with stakes in the Iron, Coal, Steel, Tin, and Railroad industries. In 1903 he had his nephew, John C. Oliver, deliver a letter to the Select Council of theCity of Pittsburgh.This letter stated the desire of the people in the South Side neighborhood for a public bath house, and Oliver promised to deed land to the city and provide a monetary gift in order to create a bath house that would be free for the people to use forever.The gift ended up being around $100,000 in the form of stock in the Consolidated Coal Company, later thePittsburgh Coal Company.When Oliver announced his plan for constructing and gifting the bath house to the city, there were only 99 public bath houses in the United States.Initial plans for the design of the building were done by architectDaniel Burnham. However, Oliver's death in February 1904 caused the project to be delayed for over a decade. The final architectural plans were completed in 1913 by MacClure and Spahr. Both Oliver's Widow, Edith Anne Oliver, and his daughter, Edith Oliver Rea, signed off on the project in the same year.By June 8 of 1914 the building contract was awarded and construction began soon after. The bath house was deeded to Pittsburgh in May 1915, and the public opening ceremony was held in June of the same year. It was initially called the South Side Bath House, but was later changed to the Oliver Bath House in Henry Oliver's memory.
In February, 2017, the Oliver Bath House was nominated by Preservation Pittsburgh to become aCity Historic Landmark.The nomination was approved and the building was designated a landmark on September 14, 2017.That same year, a report commissioned by the city recommended that the Oliver Bath House be closed and sold due to its poor condition.ThePittsburgh City Councilultimately decided not to sell the building and raised funds for a restoration project which was planned to start in spring 2023.
The Oliver Bath House can be described as bothTudor RevivalandGothic Collegiate. It has been recognized in both theNew International Year Bookand the Plumbers’ Trade Journal for its significant architecture and plumbing design.The architect who made the original sketch,Daniel H. Burnham, is most known for his work withNew York City'sFlatiron Building,Washington, D.C.'sUnion Station, and his work helping to develop a master plan for Washington, D.C., with his partners. It is unknown how much of his designs made it into the finished product. The architectural firm ofMacClure & Spahrwere the ones ultimately responsible for the finalized design. They made significant contributions throughout the city of Pittsburgh. Elements of the “period style era” can be seen in most of their works including the Oliver Bath House.