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| The following is a wonderful article by David Whitsett about the Beach House, courtesy of the Cedar Falls Historical Society. The Island Park Bath House
Imagine it is the early 1920s. It is a warm summer day and you and your family would love to go somewhere to a nice, sandy beach and enjoy the sun and some cool, clear water for swimming. But you're in Iowa! Where could you possibly find such a place?
Then somebody says, "Hey, let's go to Island Park in Cedar Falls!"
So, you pile into the Model T Ford and off you go. "Can we stay overnight in a cabin, Mom?", says your little brother. Mom knows the swimming is free so you'll have enough to pay for the cabin, so she agrees. On the way, you realize that because you left in such a rush, you have forgotten your swimsuits, but then Dad reminds you that you can rent suits and towels at Island Park. They are the cotton ones that look good until you get them wet, but who cares, you're on the way to the beach! And you are excited about the high diving platform and the big slide that sit in the middle of the swimming area in the river and you are hoping to have a picnic using one of the tables and the brick fireplaces and maybe even rent a boat and perhaps go fishing.
 (photo courtesy of North Shore Boat Club) Lots of families did all that and more from 1920 up into the 1940s at Cedar Falls' Island Park. It was, for many years, one of Iowa's premier tourist destinations. It had been the brainchild of three members of Cedar Falls' first Park Board, Jim Markussen, Walter Voorhies and George Wyth, who spearheaded a community project in 1920 that resulted in the establishment of the park. Sponsored primarily by the Cedar Falls Commercial Club and the Cedar Falls Woman's Club, the $10,000 cost was raised through donations of private citizens.  (photo courtesy of Cedar Falls Historical Society, circa 1920) In April of 1920, the Cedar Falls Park Board acquired 15 acres of land on the north side of the Cedar River just west of the Franklin Street bridge. The fund drive to build the bath house took place in May. The building was modeled after one in Glenwood Park in Minneapolis. It was 120 x 38 feet with a concrete floor and included large men's and women's dressing rooms (one at either end of the building) containing a total of 324 steel lockers, with a concession stand, a swimsuit and towel rental booth and restrooms in the center of the building and a large veranda with chairs and benches. By the middle of July, the construction was complete. On July 17th, the facility opened and the Cedar Falls Record reported that "400 swimmers were present" on that first day of operation. A diving platform and a large sliding board were soon built, and on August 2, 1920, a formal opening was attended by over 2500 people. Music was provided by the Cedar Falls Municipal Band.  (photo courtesy of North Shore Boat Club) Island Park was eventually expanded to over 100 acres and included tennis and horseshoe courts, a small petting zoo, picnic tables, brick fireplaces and, for several years, a permanent carnival. There was even a Boy Scout reserve at the north end of the park with a log cabin and large stone fireplace. Across the road (on the east side) was Tourist Park, so named because it offered cabins for rent, along with camping facilities and a large community shelter with electric lighting, hot and cold showers and 24-hour police protection. Large numbers of tourists from around Iowa and neighboring states spent weekends and sometimes longer in the park.  (photo courtesy of Cedar Falls Historical Society, circa 1940) Though it was occasionally flooded when the Cedar River overflowed its banks, the bath house remained in regular use until 1946 when the public swimming facilities were closed. For some years after that the bath house went unused, but later served as a restaurant, a snack bar and even as a penny arcade for a while. It was then used as a storage facility by the Cedar Falls Parks Commission and, in the 1950s, was leased to the North Shore Boat Club, who remodeled the west wing and built boat docks into the river. In the 1960s, the River Front Commission removed the concession stand and ticket counter, installed paneling and a kitchenette and rewired, reroofed, sided and screened in the center and east wing of the building, which was then made available for family reunions, fund raisers and graduation, wedding and retirement parties.
When the new four-lane Franklin Street bridge was proposed in the mid-1980s, it seemed for a while that the old bath house might have to be demolished. However, engineering studies concluded that at its most
westerly point, the bridge embankment would reach to about 15 feet
from the corner of the building and, thus, the building could remain.
A comittee of concerned citizens, chaired by Cedar Falls resident Glen Henry, succeeding in raising almost $21,000 in 1987 to give the building a much-needed facelift. Contributions were received from the CF Police Protective Association, the CF Firefighters, the CF Rotary Club, Main Street Social Club, CF Lions Club, the North Shore Boat Club and Standard Golf Company. In addition, the Boat Club also made $4800 worth of plumbing and electrical improvement on its side of the building. Renovation were completed in time for the 1987 Sturgis Falls celebration and the building continues to be used to this day. Here is some history as to origins of the Bath Houses that sprang up in the early 20th Century. Thanks to Julie Huffman-Klinkowitz. The Historical and Cultural Significance of the Public Bathhouse
It is hard from the standpoint of the relative luxury of the twenty-first century to comprehend the importance of the public bath house. What is now seen as a simple structure in which to host dances and family get-togethers was at one time the focal point of the community’s health and leisure.
While the history of the public bath dates to Ancient Greece, the widespread construction of public bath houses in America outside large metropolitan areas began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Cities near the sea or lake side had a somewhat longer tradition of public baths, but “only about a dozen United States cities had even these bathing facilities prior to 1895, and the first general movement in favor of year-round hot and cold baths was a reflex from Germany, about 1891.” Pioneers of the public bath movement initially advocated their introduction in New York for the benefit of the poor, who had no opportunity to travel to the seaside, and, despite resistance from official quarters, baths were built all over the city and adjacent areas, including Coney Island. Other cities followed suit, with Philadelphia, Newark, Boston, Kansas City, and Saint Paul, among countless others, erecting permanent bath houses.
The bath houses generally followed a standard plan, with men’s and women’s dressing rooms separated by restrooms and an area where towels and swimsuits could be rented. The bath house could be located at the sea side, as in the case of Coney Island, or on a lake or river. When all else failed, swimming pools were constructed in conjunction with the bath house. The popularity and expansion of the public bath house across America was fueled by several factors. Initially, advocates stressed the health benefits derived from the occasional bath. This was at a time when most people lacked indoor plumbing and the luxury of a bath was a once a week, at most, treat. With the advent of germ theory, the concept that by immersing the body on a regular basis in water one could rid oneself of harmful germs greatly added to the appeal of the public bath house.
But the health benefits of a bath do not alone explain the explosion of bath houses built in the United States after the turn of the last century. Permanent cultural shifts aided in the popularity of the bath house and in its perceived necessity, not the least of which was the rapid expansion of leisure time available to the average person. Whereas in the early 1900s, it took sixty to seventy hours per week to earn one’s livelihood, by 1933 the shortening of the work week hours and the Great Depression and its consequent unemployment had created a “leisure problem” for which “wholesome recreations [were] encouraged and fostered.” Principal among the recreation solutions encouraged by the governor of New Hampshire in his inaugural address of 1933 was the construction of additional bath houses across his state. With abundant leisure time, the citizens of New Hampshire and many of the other states in the Union turned to the public bath houses, beaches, lakes and rivers to fill the hot, un-air-conditioned days of summer. The perils of spending one’s days cooped up at home were abundantly clear from the newspaper headlines: “Four Dead From Heat in Chicago; Scores Are Overcome.”
At the same time that many found themselves with more leisure than they had ever enjoyed before, transportation options were evolving that made a day at the beach and bath house even more accessible. Trains, streetcars and horses were joined by bicycles and automobiles in conveying large numbers of people to sometimes overwhelmed beaches. Sheboygan, Wisconsin found that at their beaches “families came down en masse and spent the day there for relief from the heat….Bathing parties come from a distance of many blocks, on foot and in automobiles. The two small bath houses have been absolutely inadequate, not having been arranged for such unexpectedly large gatherings.” Cities like Oshkosh, Wisconsin built additional bath houses to accommodate the increased popularity of a day spent outdoors on the water and later passed lengthy ordinances outlining acceptable behavior at the beach and bath house. Even cities like Savannah, Georgia, situated close to the sea, were forced to build swimming and wading pools with bath houses and concessions to accommodate the thousands who came to frolic and cool off. American physicians further encouraged physical activity at the beach as a healthier form of exercise than, for example, the “bicycle craze” indulged in earlier in the twentieth century. Swimming, canoeing and beach sports were recommended as “there was no strain in these outdoor sports and we know they [do] an infinite amount of good to a lot of people.” Young people were urged to enjoy themselves “in any sort of costume not actually immodest” and became “brown as Southern Europe people, and this without damage to health, serious accident or scandal.” At a time when both sexes were generally more dressed than undressed, the thought of shedding one’s clothing on a hot day in August and donning the relatively scanty swimwear of the day held a special allure. In fact, a day spent at the beach and bath house appealed to everyone, young and old, wealthy or poor. The culture of the early twentieth century further encouraged the popularity of the beach as California’s population swelled and Hawaii “called” on the radio. Images of golden sands, palm trees and waterside fun were a staple of early Hollywood movies and across America people turned to their local beach and bath house for a taste of what they had seen on the big screen. There were few forms of entertainment available at the turn of the last century that could provide the benefits associated with a day spent by the water nor are there many buildings as iconic as the American bath house at the local beach. Representing a cultural shift on the most profound level, the American bath house facilitated a change in America’s perception of health, exercise, leisure, and transportation and propelled the shift from 19th century manners and expectations to 20th and 21st century freedoms.
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