Müller’sches Volksbad (Hallenbad)

This guide to the Müller'sches Volksbad in Munich opens in 1897, when engineer Karl Müller gave the city a fortune with one condition: a bath built for working families who owned no bathroom, not a club for the rich. It follows architect Carl Hocheder's design, borrowing the grandeur of Roman baths and the hush of mosques, and the flood that nearly stopped the building from opening on schedule. The pool hall was once split strictly by sex, and on the hottest days a fine mist once sprayed down from the ceiling, scattering light across the tiles.