Crystal Steam Bath building knocked down

Local historian remembers family trips to place where locals went to cleanse their bodies and souls

January 11, 2017 10:00 pm
Anderson & Middleton Company/Jones Photo Collection The Crystal Steam Bath building in Aberdeen has been knocked down for parking space at the future Gateway Center. This photo, from the Jones Photo Historical Collection, appears to have been taken soon after the building was built in 1928 on the 100 block of South F Street. A tailoring business occupies the middle of the building. The baths are believed to have closed for good in the 1980s. Local historian Roy Vataja remembers going to the Crystal Steam Bath when he was young and shared some memories from his experiences there. “My parents came to Aberdeen from Finland in 1959 and the sauna was, and is, one of main touchstones of Finnish culture. When I was growing up in the early 1970s we would frequently go to the Crystal Steam Baths on a Friday night. There was still a good sized Finnish population on the Harbor at that time and the owners, Rudy and Marge Kauhanen, were friends of the family. I remember how clean everything was. We’d go into the dressing room and then into the sauna. The upper deck was warmest and my dad would make sure that I always started out on the top deck and he would let the steam pour. I would stand it for as long as I could to prove how ‘tough’ a 7-year old I was, but eventually would have to move to the lower, cooler deck. Afterwards, we would cool off in the dressing room with my parents enjoying cans of Oly beer while I clutched my bottle of Simba soda. I really miss those days and although I did get to go into the building a few months ago, I much prefer remembering how it was.”
Anderson & Middleton Company/Jones Photo Collection The Crystal Steam Bath building in Aberdeen has been knocked down for parking space at the future Gateway Center. This photo, from the Jones Photo Historical Collection, appears to have been taken soon after the building was built in 1928 on the 100 block of South F Street. A tailoring business occupies the middle of the building. The baths are believed to have closed for good in the 1980s. Local historian Roy Vataja remembers going to the Crystal Steam Bath when he was young and shared some memories from his experiences there. “My parents came to Aberdeen from Finland in 1959 and the sauna was, and is, one of main touchstones of Finnish culture. When I was growing up in the early 1970s we would frequently go to the Crystal Steam Baths on a Friday night. There was still a good sized Finnish population on the Harbor at that time and the owners, Rudy and Marge Kauhanen, were friends of the family. I remember how clean everything was. We’d go into the dressing room and then into the sauna. The upper deck was warmest and my dad would make sure that I always started out on the top deck and he would let the steam pour. I would stand it for as long as I could to prove how ‘tough’ a 7-year old I was, but eventually would have to move to the lower, cooler deck. Afterwards, we would cool off in the dressing room with my parents enjoying cans of Oly beer while I clutched my bottle of Simba soda. I really miss those days and although I did get to go into the building a few months ago, I much prefer remembering how it was.”

Anderson & Middleton Company/Jones Photo Collection

The Crystal Steam Bath building in Aberdeen has been knocked down for parking space at the future Gateway Center. This photo, from the Jones Photo Historical Collection, appears to have been taken soon after the building was built in 1928 on the 100 block of South F Street. A tailoring business occupies the middle of the building. The baths are believed to have closed for good in the 1980s. Local historian Roy Vataja remembers going to the Crystal Steam Bath when he was young and shared some memories from his experiences there. “My parents came to Aberdeen from Finland in 1959 and the sauna was, and is, one of main touchstones of Finnish culture. When I was growing up in the early 1970s we would frequently go to the Crystal Steam Baths on a Friday night. There was still a good sized Finnish population on the Harbor at that time and the owners, Rudy and Marge Kauhanen, were friends of the family. I remember how clean everything was. We’d go into the dressing room and then into the sauna. The upper deck was warmest and my dad would make sure that I always started out on the top deck and he would let the steam pour. I would stand it for as long as I could to prove how ‘tough’ a 7-year old I was, but eventually would have to move to the lower, cooler deck. Afterwards, we would cool off in the dressing room with my parents enjoying cans of Oly beer while I clutched my bottle of Simba soda. I really miss those days and although I did get to go into the building a few months ago, I much prefer remembering how it was.”