Aberdeen’s Art Deco Heritage 1. Bon Accord Baths
Posted in Aberdeen, Art Deco at 21:32 on 8 October 2008
I was browsing the www last night and I discovered that Aberdeen City Council has recently closed these baths apparently not long after refurbishing them.
To see how sad a loss this could be just feast your eyes on these pictures. This is such a wonderful Art Deco interior. This is simply how a baths ought to be. When I first saw the photographs I was stunned.
It is a pity that the facilities are no longer cost effective. It seems each visitor to the baths was effectively subsidised to the tune of £11 a visit!
In these cash straitened times I suppose Aberdeen council has to make cuts somewhere but surely this interior deserves preserving and cherishing.
There is a link – which I can’t seem to follow – to a petition against the closure and also a statement that these baths had the only diving boards in Aberdeen!
I realise the upkeep is a severe strain on the public purse and people want more modern facilities, flumes etc, but I don’t think beautiful is too strong a word to describe what can be seen here. Magnificent even.
Is there not a way the Bon Accord Baths can be taken over by some preservation trust?
jackdeighton
12 October 2008 at 19:33
The good lady has suggested putting in a sprung wooden floor and using the place for dancing – ceilidhs and such.
They could even use it for wedding receptions and the like.
Sounds good to me.
Scotlandâs Art Deco Heritage 9. Northern Hotel, Aberdeen - A Son of the Rock -- Jack Deighton
27 December 2008 at 21:17
[…] that Aberdeen didn’t have any Art Deco buildings. Obviously they had never been inside the Bon Accord Baths. And this hotel looks pretty Deco to me. Reminiscent of Rothesay Pavilion in its circular […]
Aberdeen’s Art Deco Heritage 4. Art Deco In Aberdeen – A Son of the Rock -- Jack Deighton
18 May 2010 at 15:08
[…] As well as some cinemas it gives my first Aberdeen Art Deco feature the Bon Accord Baths, […]
Lyn
13 September 2012 at 23:43
I agree. It’s such a waste seeing the baths lie empty. I went there daily when I was at the High School and used the diving boards a lot. Sad loss of facility to Aberdeen
jackdeighton
14 September 2012 at 18:39
Thanks for looking in, Jane.
It is a pity such facilities aren’t being used.
Ruth
15 September 2012 at 14:21
This is where Ian Wood’s money could have been spent. Instead, we have a city almost at war over Union Terrace Gardens. He obviously has no concept of what beauty is.
jackdeighton
15 September 2012 at 21:17
I don’t live in Aberdeen but I couldn’t disagree with you, Ruth.