Health and Hygiene > Public Baths and Comfort Stations
The first provision for free public baths was made in 1870 by the erection of two floating baths. In 1897, there were fifteen floating baths from the Battery to 134th Street thanks to the efforts of AICP. The baths were open from June to October, daily from 5am to 9pm. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays were set apart for women and children.
In 1914, AICP’s Bureau of Public Health and Hygiene carried out a sanitary survey of the public and semi-public comfort stations in New York City “with a view of obtaining an idea of the extent of their use, their character, accessibility, equipment, and sanitary condition.”
