San Francisco’s Maritime National Park gets well-deserved spotlight in a documentary

Maritime national park in San francisco, a streamlined moderne treasure, gets its due in a documentary. Photo By Therese poletti

San Francisco’s finest example of Streamline Moderne architecture will be in the spotlight in a new documentary about the history and the art of the Aquatic Park Bathhouse, today known as the Maritime National Park.

The documentary, “A Balcony on the World,” will air on August 22 on KQED at 8 pm and tells the story of the creation of the bathhouse as a democratic country club, a public place for leisure and art. A major project of the Works Public Administration (WPA), the building sits on its lagoon site like an ocean liner ready to depart.

In addition to the stunning nautical architecture by father and son architects William Mooser II. and William Mooser III, the former bathhouse also contains a feast for the eyes of New Deal-era works by artists Hilaire Hiler, Sargent Johnson, Benny Bufano and others in the form of dreamy murals, stunning mosaics and sculpture.

Sargent Johnson’s mosaics provides a colorful backdrop for benny bufano’s sculpture on the veranda photo by THerese Poletti

Completed in 1939, the noble aspirations of a public bathhouse did not last long. The city leased most of the building to a group of businessmen who created an Aquatic Park Casino, a restaurant and nightclub, discouraging public use of the building. The artists were enraged and Johnson stormed off the project, leaving his mosaics unfinished.

During World War II, a command responsible for defending the West Coast was established there. Eventually, in 1988, the site, including the former bathhouse became a National Historic Park. It is now under the auspices of the National Parks Service, which has completed many rehabilitation and restoration projects. Some of these stories may be told in what promises to be a visually rich documentary by filmmaker John Rogers, partly funded by SF National Maritime Park Association President Darlene Plumtree.

The SF National Maritime Park Association is also hosting a world premiere of “A Balcony on the World,” this Saturday evening, August 16, at 7:15 at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco. Space is limited but there may still be free tickets available. Filmmaker Rogers will be in attendance.

The SF Maritime National Park won an Art Deco Society of California Preservation Award in 1986, and art conservator Ann Rosenthal won an award in 2022 for her work, which included restoration work on many of the murals in the lobby and uncovering new art work upstairs.

Over 40 years of honoring Art Deco preservation at the ADSC

ADSC founder Michael Crowe in 1984 with Preservation Award winner Steve Levin and Sara Klotz de Aguilar, Miss 1929

This year, as we celebrate 100 years of Art Deco, with the centennial anniversary of the Paris Exposition of 1925, the Art Deco Society of California is also celebrating its long commitment to preservation.

As part of the Art Deco Preservation Ball this year, the ADSC’s Preservation Committee, through the efforts of volunteer extraordinaire Heather Ripley, with help from Isabella Miller and Therese Poletti, created a slideshow to look back at the last 40 years of our Preservation Awards. Buildings, businesses, non-profits and individuals who have worked hard to preserve the beauty of the Art Deco era have been honored.

The two slideshows we have compiled do not include every single ADSC award winner, but we have included most of them. The latest slideshows can be found in the Preservation Awards section of our website, including a separate slideshow featuring the winners of 2025. A few featured winners of the past include movie palace architect S. Charles Lee, iconic Deco artist Erté, and architect Milton Pflueger, the youngest brother of Timothy Pflueger, who took over the firm after Tim’s sudden death in 1946.

Looking ahead, do you have any nominations for 2026? You will find any easy-to-use form to nominate any buildings, projects, people for next year’s Art Deco Preservation Awards, also in the Preservation Awards section of the ADSC website.

A New Era for Gatsby!

Turning the Page After 40 Years

Same Grandeur - New Venue

As some of you may have noticed, the Gatsby Picnic location has changed to History Park in San Jose for 2025. Some people are asking why this happened. Ultimately, the decision came down to health and safety concerns at the former location. While Dunsmuir is a lovely location that has served us well for nearly 40 years, there have been concerns about the safety of the location that have intensified over the last few years.

The mansion, which we used to be able to tour, has fallen into a state of disrepair. Even after the interior was closed off, we were allowed to continue using the porch for photos. Now the porch has been left to the same fate as the rest of the building making it too dangerous to use as well. Furthermore, leaks in the roof have allowed water incursion and the building is apparently infested with mold. The abandoned swimming pool and adjacent buildings are in imminent danger of collapsing. That area has been closed off for years now, but its deterioration poses a threat to anyone attempting access. The same can be said for the various outbuildings on the property.

Finally, the grounds themselves have been left to deteriorate year after year. It has gotten to the point where we don’t believe that it is safe for a large group of people and vintage cars to venture onto the central field without risk of injury.

In light of all of this, we made the difficult decision to find a new location. After exploring multiple venues around the entire bay area, we are excited to work with History Park and the City of San Jose! For those who haven’t visited History Park, it is a lovely and well-maintained property that covers over 10 acres. To ensure an immersive experience, we’re reserving the entire park for the event. This means that only ticketed individuals will be able to access the grounds the day of the event.

We will still have most of the highlights of previous years such as a live band, dance floor, contests, performances, and vintage cars. In addition, the new venue brings features that weren’t possible before, like a rideable vintage streetcar, a historic hotel-turned-museum, a vintage ice cream parlor, several period houses open for touring, and plenty more to explore. This is a big change, and we know some may be disappointed. We respect that and only ask that those who feel that way give the event a chance.

If you would like to volunteer for the event, please reach out soon to volunteer@artdecosocietyofcalifornia.org to be included in our volunteer group. And of course, if you have a vintage vehicle you would like to bring, please visit our website to register at https://gatsbypicnic.com/automobiles.

The Board is excited about what the future will hold at History Park and we hope you’ll join us to make this an amazing event!