The Crystal Bath

Written by Bakersfield Magazine

Roughly six months—that was all the time it took to build Bakersfield’s first natatorium, the Crystal Bath. It was heralded as a “modern natatorium,” which, to us, sounds like a contradiction in terms. How could such an archaic word be modern?

In January of 1910, Joe Vlasnik and his sons, Louie and Joe, announced they would be constructing a bath house for all of Bakersfield to enjoy. It would be state-of-the-art (as advanced as it could get in 1910) and would be located on east 19th street on a 150 by 200-foot area of land Vlasnik purchased from Ben Brundage. Yes, that Brundage.

Vlasnik claimed it would be built in time for summer. And though there was some controversy over water purity, Vlasnik kept his part of the deal and in early June, the Crystal Bath was nearly ready to open. Only the electric lighting system needed to be installed. True to form, 700 bathing suits with caps and stockings arrived ready for the dipping season. A balcony overlooking the water had been constructed for leisure...and ice cream eating. Once the 200 incandescent bulbs were in place, the Crystal Bath was in business.

It was a wonderful summer for bathers, though swimming was cut short on September 4, 1910, a mere three months after the building was opened, when an arsonist allegedly used coal oil to burn it to the ground. While the culprit was never caught, and the Crystal Bath never rebuilt, those who flocked to this historic natatorium that summer enjoyed a brief respite from the summer sun.

Article appeared in our 26-3 Issue - August 2009