Cleveland in Cuyahoga County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Clark Avenue Public Baths

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, August 19, 2026

1. Clark Avenue Public Baths Marker

Inscription. Side A
More Than a Bath House
Cleveland's bath houses created important social gathering spaces for their diverse immigrant communities. The Clark Avenue neighborhood included residents from the Central and Eastern European countries of Germany. Czechoslovakia, Italy, Slovenia, and Poland. The bath house gymnasium was a hub of social activities that helped to connect and mix these immigrant groups. In its 1918 Annual Report, the City of Cleveland reported that 21,247 men. women, and children attended the 22 class offerings at Clark Avenue Bath House. These classes included dance lessons, physical training, and organized team sports. Monthly community dances. also held in the gymnasium, deepened the social and personal connections made at the facility. Weekly medical clinics, providing heart and lung check-ups, further cared for the health of its diverse community.

Side B
Clark Recreation Center
In the early 20th century. the City of Cleveland began opening public bath houses as a way to address the unsanitary living conditions of its overcrowded immigrant neighborhoods. Opened in January 1908, the Clark Avenue Bath

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

House was Cleveland's third public bath house. It cost $32,000 to build and was designed by prominent Cleveland architect Charles F. Schweinfurth. The semi-Colonial building featured heavy Ionic columns that framed the two entrances marked for "Men” and "Women" overhead. Clark Avenue Bath House had 35 private shower "cabinets," two group showers, locker rooms, and a gymnasium with a spectator gallery. By 1921, seven such bath houses served the city. Today, five remain and four continue to offer public services to their neighborhoods as Neighborhood Resource and Recreation Centers.

Erected 2023. (Marker Number 158-18.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Entertainment • Immigration. A significant historical year for this entry is 1918.

Location. 41° 28.183′ N, 81° 43.528′ W. Marker is in Cleveland, Ohio, in Cuyahoga County. It is on Clark Avenue west of West 56th Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cleveland OH 44102, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Ohio’s Lake Erie Shore

and in the Western

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, August 19, 2026

2. Clark Avenue Public Baths Marker

Reserve.

It is also in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: A different marker also named John W. Heisman Birth Site (approx. one mile away); The Templin-Bradley Company (approx. 1.1 miles away); Jacob Baehr 1824 – 1873/Magdalena Baehr 1834 - 1909 (approx. 1.1 miles away); Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Memorial (approx. 1.1 miles away); The GAR Monument (approx. 1.1 miles away); Gustav Schaefer (approx. 1.1 miles away); In memoriam (approx. 1.1 miles away); Thomas Holmden (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cleveland.

Another marker is no longer nearby. John W. Heisman Birth Site (was approx. one mile away but has been permanently removed).

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, August 19, 2026

3. Clark Avenue Public Baths Marker

Side A

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, August 19, 2026

4. Clark Avenue Public Baths Marker

Side B

Credits. This page was last revised on August 22, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 20, 2026, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 12 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 20, 2026, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 3, 4. submitted on August 22, 2026, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.