45. 1970.10.179 – Old Bathhouses at Breakwater Beach
c.1900 – photographer unknown
Traditionally, sea bathers arrived at the beach fully clothed and changed into swimwear in
bath houses like these. Some of these bath houses were owned by the town, with the town
collecting the rent (in 1930 about $7 a summer) and some were privately owned. The last bath houses were torn down in 1945 when the property was sold.
June 22 [1877] -- In the evening we went to the shore to see the unusually high tide that came up under our bath house, rocking it like a boat. It was wild and eerie -- the strong wind, and the black rushing waves. -- From the diary of Caro A. Dugan, courtesy of Brewster Ladies Library.