St Kilda Sea Baths facts for kids
The St Kilda Sea Baths is a fun place with a pool, spa, restaurants, and entertainment. It's located right on St Kilda Beach in Victoria, Australia. Over the years, many different "seabath" buildings have been here. The last one was built in 1931 in a Spanish-Moorish style. It was taken down in the 1990s and replaced by the building you see today, which looks a bit like the 1931 baths.
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History of the Sea Baths
For a long time, people didn't usually swim in the open sea. It wasn't seen as proper until the 1850s. Instead, they used large wooden structures to swim in. These structures kept them private and safe from sea creatures.
Early Baths and Popularity
The very first official St Kilda Sea Baths opened in 1860. They had separate areas for men and women. Swimming in the sea was thought to be good for your health, so it became very popular. During the 1800s, there were as many as six different sea baths along the St Kilda shore!
One of the first bath structures was actually a half-sunk ship! In 1854, a man named Captain Kenney bought a ship called Nancy. He sank it near St Kilda Pier and ran a rope to the shore to help swimmers get to it. This bathing ship lasted until 1912. Captain Kenney also had special baths just for ladies in St Kilda.
In 1856, a government group in Victoria suggested building a Sea Bathing Company in St Kilda with two bathhouses. Construction started in 1858, and the baths opened in 1860. They had a gym, places to eat, and a huge swimming area. People who used the baths even formed a club called ‘Companions of the Baths’. Eventually, there were at least four separate swimming areas. The last one, built in 1903, was very fancy with many domes and hot sea baths. Sadly, it was destroyed by fire in 1926.
Changing Times and New Buildings
By the mid-1920s, more and more people started swimming in the open sea. By 1928, men and women were swimming together freely. Because of this, the St Kilda Council built three open-sea changing rooms along the beach. These beach changing rooms became more popular than the old enclosed sea baths.
Even so, the St Kilda Council decided to build new baths. They were designed in 1929 by the City Engineer’s Department. These new sea baths were strong and spacious, not flimsy wooden buildings. The women's section had beautiful Islamic-style screens and Moorish domed towers. These towers looked similar to other famous buildings in St Kilda, like the Palais and Luna Park. The men's section had arched walkways facing the shore with wavy Spanish Mission-style decorations. They expected many people, so they built 756 lockers for men and 572 for women! Other sea baths in Victoria, like the ones in Brighton (1936), Williamstown (1936), and Geelong (1937), didn't have as many features as the St Kilda baths.
The new Sea Baths opened in 1931. But by then, the idea of enclosed sea baths was already becoming old-fashioned. The baths were never as successful as people hoped. The building started to fall apart because it wasn't looked after. By 1950, parts of the men's baths were unsafe and closed.
Later Years and Rebuilding
Over the years, different nightclubs operated in the building. In 1981, parts of the Sea Baths were taken down. By the mid-1980s, only the hot Sea Baths were still open, surrounded by a run-down building. The nightclub had closed, and the old café was damaged by fires and vandalism.
The nearby St Kilda Pier was rebuilt in the 1970s. But discussions about redeveloping the Sea Baths didn't start until 1989. In 1993, the Sea Baths closed. In 1995, almost everything except the domes was demolished to prepare for a new building. The planning and construction faced many problems. Finally, a new company, South Pacific St Kilda Pty Ltd, was given a 50-year lease in 1999. A new design, including an underground car park, was approved in 2000.
During its construction, some people in St Kilda were worried that the new complex was too tall and would block their views of the bay. The new $55 million complex, covering 10,000 square metres, was officially opened in 2001.
Today, the design of the St Kilda Sea Baths includes a rebuilt section with the twin Moorish-style domes. It also has a simpler section next to it, built where the old baths used to be. The complex has many restaurants on two levels, event rooms, a courtyard between the domes, a health club, and a 25-meter public swimming pool. This pool is special because it's Australia's only indoor heated sea-water pool!
In 2017, there was a new discussion when the company renting the event rooms and rooftop wanted to add a larger rooftop area.
Land Ownership
The land where the Sea Baths are built is still owned by the government, called Crown Land. It's managed by a government department, which works with the local Council (currently the City of Port Phillip). The Council and the department don't always agree on decisions. The complex is rented to a company, which then rents out the different parts, like the restaurants and the health club. Since 2001, the pool, gym, and spa have been rented by South Pacific Health Clubs.
