Radium Sulphur Springs

Radium Sulphur Springs, located on the north side of Melrose Avenue between Larchmont and Gower Street in Los Angeles, California, U.S., was an early-20th-century hot spring that resulted from an unsuccessful attempt to drill 1,500 feet (460 m) for oil.

"Discovered" in 1905 and opened as a spa by G. P. Gehring in 1908,[1] the owners claimed that the water was radioactive, germicidal, and blood purifying.

[2][3][4] The supposed radioactivity of water was advertised as "liquid sunshine" and was part of the larger radium fad of the early 20th century.

[3] The same year, owners claimed the waters were "wonderfully curative" for diseases and disorders from catarrh to neurasthenia.

Baths open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m."[7] The spa endured until around 1929 when the Great Depression and the death of the owner shut down the business.