San Francisco Bathhouse

San Francisco Bathhouse is a live-music and club venue at 171 Cuba Street in Te Aro, Wellington. It occupies the first floor of the Edilson’s building, constructed in 1928. Before the venue took its current form, the building housed a shoe factory, Wellington Fisheries headquarters, a wrestling gym and a bathhouse. The sauna associated with the original bathhouse later relocated to 159 Willis Street.

Earlier incarnations of the Cuba Street site included Ali Baba’s and the Cave. Indigo Bar and Venue became San Francisco Bath House in 2006, under owners Tim Ward and Clinton den Heyer. The venue shut for earthquake strengthening in early 2014, then reopened after an interior renovation with capacity increased from 250 to 500. Tim Ward and Ziggy Ziya were co-owners before Live Nation acquired it in 2020.

Its programme has ranged across live music, DJ sets and comedy, with genres including reggae, dub, drum and bass and indie rock. The weekly Sub Club night ran there in 1989, with Clinton Smiley among the DJs playing Detroit techno and acid house. More recent club nights have included house and deep house, the recurring disco session You Should Be Dancing, and Breaking Beats’ drum-and-bass events. MESSIE, ATMOS, Napes and Paige Julia are among the artists who have played at the venue. You Should Be Dancing had Wellington dates in 2023, 2024 and 2025.