{"nrhp_refnum":"80002709","name":"Public Baths","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Asser Levy Pl. and E. 23rd St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.735978137000075,"lon":-73.97588917699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-04-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, cross-shaped red brick public bathhouse at Asser Levy Place and East 23rd Street in Manhattan, built by the City of New York between 1904 and 1906 and designed by Arnold W. Brunner and William M. Aiken in the neo-Classical style.","why_significant":"It is one of the few remaining public bathhouses in Manhattan and the only one still operated as such by the city. It was the largest and most elaborate free public bath built under New York's 1895 law, which was the first of its kind in the United States. It is also an exceptional example of neo-Classical design, with a swimming pool and marble interiors unusual among city baths.","narrative":"Free public bathing was a necessity for many New Yorkers around 1900, when crowded tenements north of City Hall to 23rd Street lacked bathing facilities. This bathhouse at Asser Levy Place and East 23rd Street, built by the city between 1904 and 1906, answered that need under a state law of 1895 that established free public baths. Architects Arnold W. Brunner and William M. Aiken gave the red brick and limestone building a neo-Classical Roman look, with paired freestanding columns, a fountain niche, and urns along the cornice. Inside are marble dressing booths and checkerboard floors, 155 original shower compartments, and a large skylit natatorium shared by both sexes, a first among city baths. It cost $273,052, far more than any other city bath. Outdoor pools were added in the 1960s and later, though they are not considered significant. The building still operates as a bathhouse and public pool.","period_of_significance":"1904-06","architect_builder":"Brunner & Aiken","architectural_style":"Neo-Classical","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still serves its community as a bathhouse and public pool, administered by the city Department of Parks and Recreation; condition listed as fair and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:41.364658-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/80002709.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002709/e6b641702d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002709/e6b641702d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Americasroof at English Wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nyc-bath1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Americasroof at English Wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nyc-bath1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319833","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asser_Levy_Recreation_Center","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4808743"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/public-baths-80002709/"}