Patrushka Shoots the Natatorium
At Penn State we went into the Natatorium because we didn't know what one was. This is what it was...
I watched for a while but...
after that I watched Patruska's shoe.
I watched for a while but...
after that I watched Patruska's shoe.
Labels: Across America, Photos by Patrushka
posted by Christopher Newton at 12:37 PM
4 Comments:
We had Natatoriums in Milwaukee when I was growing up. They were built as WPA projects. Lotsa people even then didn't have plumbing, so the public bath houses were many. In the mid-'60's (when I was coming to teen years)there were still three in operation and we'd go every Saturday to swim for a nickle and all the old guys would come for their weekly swim and seemingly interminable hot showers. Now they are gone, all but one. It became a trendynrestaurant that featured dolphin acts.
How trendy can a restaurant be that features trained dolphins? Still, I shouldn't mock. In SF when I was a kid there was a fashionable restaurant with a tropical theme in a Nob Hill hotel. It featured a tropical storm over the luau pool every half hour. The monsoon rustled through the drinkers' little mai-tai umbrellas.
Well, it was in Milwaukee and they served something besides beer. Given the timbre of the town, it was most trendy. I guess the thing that bothered me was that they turned a depression era public bath into an eatery. Somehow that's amiss. Maybe it's me, but something just doesn't sound right there.
I can barely remember the restraunt; I was just a kid 4 or 5 when I went to it but I do remember it was awesome! I wish someone had some photos of the place that would be really cool1
Thanks for the memories.
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