Alvarado Hot Springs
| Alvarado Hot Springs | |
|---|---|
 The Pomona Progress Bulletin, Feb. 6, 1926 | |
 | |
| Location | Puente Hills, Los Angeles County, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 33°58′55″N 117°53′18″W / 33.98194°N 117.88833°W |
| Type | geothermal |
| Temperature | 44 °C (111 °F)[1] |
| Depth | 1,525 metres (5,003 ft)[1] |
Alvarado Hot Springs was a 20th-century geothermal well in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A bathhouse was built next to the water and a therapeutic spa was operated on the site for several decades.
History[edit]
The source of the water was a 5,000 feet (1,500 m) large-diameter petroleum test well drilled that yielded hot water and natural gas.[2] On November 7, 1924,[3] a six-inch well bore hit hot water at 3,400 feet (1,000 m) and gas at 4,240 feet (1,290 m).[4] The water was pumped up to a tank for recreational-therapeutic use and the gas was used to heat the bathhouse.[2] The well was drilled and owned by rancher William P. Alvarado.[4][2] Alvarado also piped the natural gas to his house, a mile from the well site, for use in cooking and lighting, and combined the water with water from other sources for use in agricultural irrigation.[4]
The bathhouse was located just off Fifth Avenue, roughly three miles southeast of the town limits of La Puente.[5][4] As described in 1926, the Alvarado Hot Springs spa was on the far slope of the Alvarado Ranch "in the hills about a mile and one-half west of the Otterbein road that runs south from Valley boulevard...The route to the springs is fairly circuitous but well signed and the road leads at last to a towering wooden oil well derrick mounted on a knoll from which much of the valley and Old Baldy in the distance Is visible."[3] There were four baths for men and three for women, as well as sweat rooms.[3]
Alvarado Hot Springs and Seminole Hot Springs were the two major therapeutic hot springs spas within Los Angeles County as of 1937.[6] The bathhouse, situated on about 20 acres of land,[7] was still in business as of 1961, street address 1880 E. 5th Street in La Puente, California.[8] The former site of the well lies within a residential neighborhood in Rowland Heights.[9]
See also[edit]
- List of hot springs in the United States § California
- Radium Sulphur Springs
- Fairview Hot Springs
- Bimini Baths
References[edit]
- ^ a b Higgins, Chris T.; Therberge, Albert E. Jr.; Ikelman, Joy A. (1980). Geothermal Resources of California (PDF) (Map). NOAA National Geophysical Center. Sacramento: California Department of Mines and Geology.
- ^ a b c Berkstresser, C. F. (1968). Data for Springs in the Southern Coast, Transverse, and Peninsular Ranges of California (Report). U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, Water Resources Division.
- ^ a b c "Hot Water on Tap". The Pomona Progress Bulletin. January 22, 1926. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
- ^ a b c d "Oil Search Results in Founding of Bathhouse". Covina Argus. June 12, 1936. p. 47. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
- ^ "Alvarado Springs Open". The Pomona Progress Bulletin. December 5, 1929. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
- ^ "Southland's Spas Varied [Part 1 of 2]". Annual Winter Resort and Travel Number. The Los Angeles Times. Vol. LVII. December 17, 1937. pp. III-1. & "Scores of Hot Springs Located in Southland [Part 2 of 2]". pp. III-1.
- ^ "A Money Maker!". Los Angeles Mirror. May 23, 1958. p. 34. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
- ^ "Alvarado Hot Springs". The Los Angeles Times. April 23, 1961. p. 275. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
- ^ Moen, Rick. "California Hot Springs - A Selfish Guide". Retrieved 2024-01-27.