The Plant Bath is a historical bath in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was built along with the Champagne Bath in 1924 to try to improve the hygiene and well-being of the city's lower classes. It was named after Frank H. Plant, then mayor of Ottawa. It is located at 930 Somerset Street West at the intersection with Preston Street. It is in the center of the Italian-Canadian community and near the Chinese-Canadian areas of the city.
At the turn of the 20th century the Canadian Government and much of its populations felt that Ottawa needed to transition from a glorified lumber town to a more modern urban center which could rival the likes of Montreal and Toronto while also reinforcing its significance as the nations capital. This major shift in interest led to the development of a new urban-industrial working class and a bourgeoisie upper class. The extensive changes to Ottawa did not come easy. The upper class soon began expressing concerns of social problems such as crime, gambling, and prostitution. Despite defining these problems as primarily law-breaking act, it quickly became an umbrella term for any “immoral acts”. The idea of improving the hygiene of the working class was introduced by reformists as a means to moral cleanliness. This novel idea gained tremendous traction in 1918 with the Spanish flu epidemic. Within a few months, the flu had killed hundreds of working class citizens most of whom lived in today's Lowertown and LeBreton Flats sectors. [1] The epidemic expanded on the original “moral cleanliness” intentions of the reformists by establishing a dire need for improving the health, safety, and vulnerability of the working class. [2]
“Personal cleanliness, so vital as a hygienic measure, must be carried to the forefront in our battle for a more perfect sanitation. Perfect compliance of all classes of people with sanitary laws will aid materially in the prolongation of human life and lessen sorrow and suffering in the world. No argument is required to prove the necessity nor the present demand for public baths and no efforts should be instituted to thwart so great a public beneficence. Prompt action is demanded along this line of humanitarian work. Cleanliness means health; it means preservation of life; it means moral improvement; it means an uplift to all that is good and pure in the world.” [3]
The Spanish Flu is generally recognized as the catalyst which solidified the decision to build two public baths, named Plant Bath and Champagne Bath, which as per the largest impact of the flu were built in Lowertown and LeBreton Flats respectively.
Constructed in 1924, Plant Bath proved to be an immense success, remaining popular for decades. Throughout the years, the Bath, which included public restrooms, two change rooms with lockers, toilets, and showers, and a spectator gallery, hosted an extensive array of lessons, events, and competitions. From the moment of opening, Plant Bath solidified itself as a staple of the community. The strong impact it had was demonstrated in 1933 following an economic crisis which prompted the mayor to propose closing the bath. [4] However, following significant pushback from patrons paired with a protest led by the Local Council of Women, the Baths were saved from closure. However, the economic value of Plant continued to be debated throughout the 1940s and 1950s due to the financial strain it put on the city. While the Bath was not financially profitable, the community argued its significant other benefits. Plant Bath provided important hygienic, mental and physical services to the working class. Additionally, the thousands of children and adults alike who learned to swim at the pool indicated the facility was important for the community's safety. [5] [2]
During the 1980s the city began investing more in leisure and activities which prompted Plant Bath to undergo major renovations in 1983 and 1984 which converted the Baths primary use from hygiene and exercise to leisure and fun. This renovation came with the addition of a lounge, solar water heating, a water slide, sauna, patio chairs, Tarzan rope, cedar deck, and plants. [6] [7] In 1994 it was designated a heritage property, but three years later the building was closed for safety reasons. The brick pillars holding up the roof had eroded and there was some danger that the building could collapse. Repairs were estimated to cost millions of dollars and the baths remained closed for several years. [2]
In 2004, eight years after closing, a major refurbishment and expansion project which had begun four years earlier was completed. The old plant bath was converted into meeting rooms and a venue hall, while the new development added two new pools comprised of an Olympic-sized lap pool and a shallow leisure pool, as well as a hot tub and steam room. For patrons to prepare, three change rooms were built, with showers, bathrooms, changing stalls and lockers. Finally, in addition to a large lobby complete with public restrooms, viewing windows and art works, a fitness gym was built to provide further exercise opportunities to patrons. Since its construction in 2004 the new Plant Recreation Centre remains a vital and recognized part of Ottawa's centrum. [8] [9]
Hygiene is a set of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refers to maintaining the body's cleanliness. Hygiene activities can be grouped into the following: home and everyday hygiene, personal hygiene, medical hygiene, sleep hygiene, and food hygiene. Home and every day hygiene includes hand washing, respiratory hygiene, food hygiene at home, hygiene in the kitchen, hygiene in the bathroom, laundry hygiene, and medical hygiene at home.
A bathroom, restroom or washroom is a room, typically in a home or other residential building, that contains either a bathtub or a shower. The inclusion of a wash basin is common. In parts of the world e.g. India, a toilet is typically included in the bathroom; in others, the toilet is typically given a dedicated room separate from the one allocated for personal hygiene activities. In the United States, the word 'bathroom' is often used to refer to any room that contains a toilet, regardless of the inclusion of a bath or shower.
Cleanliness is both the state of being clean and free from germs, dirt, trash, or waste, and the habit of achieving and maintaining that state. Cleanliness is often achieved through cleaning. Culturally, cleanliness is usually a good quality, as indicated by the aphorism: "Cleanliness is next to Godliness", and may be regarded as contributing to other ideals such as health and beauty.
Bathing is the act of washing the body, usually with water, or the immersion of the body in water. It may be for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes. By analogy, especially as a recreational activity, the term is also applied to sun bathing and sea bathing.
Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other criteria.
The Champagne Bath, officially the Champagne Fitness Centre, is a historic public bath in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 321 King Edward Avenue in Lower Town.
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are especially widespread in Europe and Japan. Day spas and medspas are also quite popular, and offer various personal care treatments.
Glossop Road Baths is a building in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which originally housed a swimming pool and Turkish baths.
The Birmingham Baths Committee was an organisation responsible for the provision and maintenance of public swimming and bathing facilities. Birmingham City Council funded, constructed and ran bathing facilities throughout the city. The movement to develop baths and wash houses in Britain had its impetus with the rapid urbanisation of the Industrial Revolution, which was felt acutely in Birmingham, one of England's powerhouses.
Warrender Swim Centre – traditionally known as Warrender Baths – is a swimming pool and fitness complex that opened in 1887 in Marchmont, Edinburgh.
Bathing played a major part in ancient Roman culture and society. It was one of the most common daily activities and was practised across a wide variety of social classes. Though many contemporary cultures see bathing as a very private activity conducted in the home, bathing in Rome was a communal activity. While the extremely wealthy could afford bathing facilities in their homes, private baths were very uncommon, and most people bathed in the communal baths (thermae). In some ways, these resembled modern-day destination spas as there were facilities for a variety of activities from exercising to sunbathing to swimming and massage.
William Harley (1767–1830) was a Scottish textile manufacturer and entrepreneur who is known for his early contributions to the city of Glasgow, including the development of the New Town of Blythswood, covering Blythswood Hill, and pioneering hygienic dairy farming.
Oasis Sports Centre is a leisure centre in Holborn, London, operated by Greenwich Leisure Limited on behalf of the London Borough of Camden.
The Asser Levy Recreation Center is a recreational facility in the Kips Bay neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, composed of the Asser Levy Public Baths and Asser Levy Playground. It is bounded by East 23rd Street to the south, East 25th Street to the north, and FDR Drive to the east. Along with the former Asser Levy Place to the west, it was named after Asser Levy, one of New York City's first Jewish citizens and a strong and influential advocate for civil liberties.
Camberwell Public Baths opened in 1892 and has been in continuous operation as publicly funded community baths and more recently as a public leisure centre.
Greek baths were bath complexes suitable for bathing and cleaning in ancient Greece, similar in concept to that of the Roman baths. Greek baths are a feature of some Hellenized countries. These baths have been found in Greece, Egypt, Italy, and there is even one located in Marseille, France. Some of the first baths have been dated back to the 5th century BCE. The public baths had a gradual development into the flourishing, culturally-significant structures of the Hellenistic age. The multiple locations of the baths throughout the Mediterranean offer different, culturally-unique developments.
Spanien Public Baths, colloquially known simply as Spanien, is a public bath house and a listed building in Aarhus, Denmark. The bath house was completed in 1931 and was listed on the Danish national registry of protected buildings and places by the Danish Heritage Agency on 15 February 1989 as a fine example of the Nordic funkis style. The building was thoroughly renovated in 2010–12.
In some denominations of Christianity, there are a number of regulations involving cleanliness before prayer, observing days of ritual purification, as well as those concerning diet and apparel. The Bible has many rituals of purification in areas ranging from the mundane private rituals of personal hygiene and toilet etiquette to the complex public rituals of social etiquette.
Nude swimming in US indoor pools was common for men and boys, but rare for women and girls from the late 1880s until the early 1970s. For much of that time period, indoor pool use was primarily for physical education or athletic competition, not recreation. Male nude swimming had been customary in natural bodies of water, which was not viewed as a social problem until the 18th century. When the tradition of skinny-dipping in secluded spots had become more visible with urbanization, indoor pools were first built in the 19th century in part to address this issue by moving male swimming indoors. For the first decades of the 20th century, male nude swimming was associated with a trope of the "old swimming hole" as representing childhood innocence and adult masculinity. In their own classes, nudity was rare for girls based upon an assumption of modesty, but might include young children. Prepubescent boys might be nude in mixed-gender settings, including the presence of female staff, public competitions, and open houses for families.