Reporter staff

The fully restored Hori Furoba Bathhouse is open for all to see.

The public celebrated the renovated 1930-made furoba, or bathhouse, next to Neely Mansion, at a dedication and grand opening ceremony last Saturday.

The rare, early Japanese-American farm bathhouse, a designated King County Landmark, needed plenty of work, but volunteers were up to the challenge.

“This is the only one left in the valley, and they used to be ubiquitous because there were so many Japanese farms, and farmers used these as part of their daily regimen and culture,” said Matt Hamel, of BOLA Architecture and Planning, who oversaw the project.

Dr. Frank Hori, son of the bathhouse’s builder, joined Hori Bathhouse Committee members, the Neely Mansion Board and local officials at the ceremony.

A $60,000 King County Proviso Grant and a nearly $10,000 grant from 4Culture paid for the restoration, according to Linda Van Nest, project manager for the Neely Mansion Association.

Volunteers began the renovation with an archaeological dig and a ceremonial blessing last September. The 10-by-16-foot bathhouse rests on a new cement foundation, rebuilt in its original form. The interior exhibit includes a replicated soaking tub.

In 1929, Shigeichi and Shimano Hori leased the Neely property and lived in the mansion with their four sons and one daughter. Shigeichi built the bathhouse behind the mansion in 1930, dividing it into two rooms.

Frank Hori remembers that an entrance and a window were in the first room, and a swinging door led to the back room with the tub.

According to Mary Hori Nakamura, the daughter:

“We would wash ourselves outside the tub and rinse ourselves off in the front room, and then go into the back room and get in the tub to soak. The whole family took baths every night.”

To learn more, see www.neelymansion.org.