Public Bath House No. 3

A tall, long brick bath house on a street corner, its gabled end facing the street. The gable carried a round oculus above three tall round-arched windows, with smaller square-headed windows below on the lower floor. A strong corner pier turned onto the long side, where a row of small windows ran high under the eaves. Each street front had its own entrance under a small bracketed hood, and a plain stone water table ran along the base.

Public Bath House No. 3 was the third of six bath houses the city of St. Louis built for residents of crowded neighborhoods without indoor plumbing, opening in 1910 at 1301 North 23rd Street, across the street from the DeSoto Playground. It held 43 showers and two tubs for men, 19 showers and two tubs for women, and a public comfort station. The building also served as a book deposit station for the St. Louis Public Library, where neighborhood children gathered to read.