By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN EAST — A former public bath house has been named Manhattan's newest landmark.
The East 54th Street Bath House and Gymnasium, between First and Second avenues, opened in 1911 as one of 13 bath houses built by the city to improve the health of residents living in crowded tenement apartments, the Landmarks Preservation Commission said.
At the time, the neighborhood was dominated by tenement buildings as well as factories and breweries, which lacked wash facilities.
The pillared, three-story building with large, recessed arches, included more than 100 showers as well as a gym, swimming pool, running track and playground.
It was taken over by the Parks Department in the 1930s, and now serves as a community recreation center.
"The building’s presence on the street is as powerful as the reform movement that led to its construction," Commission Chairman Robert Tierney said in a statement.
"It’s lasting proof of a continuing commitment the City of New York made more than 100 years ago to protect and improve the health of its citizens."
