Swimming pools today are a statement of personality, values, and priorities. Classy chic, or funky freeform. A plunge pool for one, or something with benches and fun features for large gatherings with friends. But once upon a time, they served more practical (although no more important) purposes in our communities.
The first public pools in the Unite States date to the later half of the 19th century. These served as bath houses, much like their ancient Roman counterparts. Men and women were kept separate, and the general use and popularity grew, due largely to the rarity of residential indoor plumbing at that time.
The first residential pool, and incidentally the first indoor residential pool, was built in 1895 in Asheville, North Carolina in the Biltmore mansion. This basement pool featured underwater lights, fully tiled sloping floor and walls, a diving platform, and ropes suspended from the upper deck onto which tired swimmers could grab hold and rest; in that day women’s swimwear especially was very modest and made of heavy wool, which became even heavier when wet.
Over the next few decades, more residential and public pools were popping up, highlighting the divide between indulgent luxury and urban commodity. By the 1930s, public pools were in large demand, and Hollywood’s glamourous influence pushed more homeowners to seek to bring luxury to their own backyard. The Great Depression slowed the industry, but only temporarily.
In the 1940’s, the shooting technique for Gunite pools was created, which meant construction was faster, and if you can believe it, less labor intensive. In the 1950’s, the first whole piece fiberglass pool hit the markets.
The atomic combination of a growing public education about health and sanitization and increased public safety codes of the early 20th century, together with the Civil Rights movement and the volatile segregation battles that came with it, led to a decrease in urban public swimming pools. The job boom of the 50’s and 60’s (many households now enjoying the benefits of two incomes) saw more residential pools filling suburban backyards.
Over the 70’s and 80’s, pool contractors began pushing the limits of design and function even more, introducing lagoon-like freeform pools and the ever popular vanishing edge feature, and experimenting with the color of their materials.
Since the 1990’s, pool owners and builders have turned their attention to simplifying maintenance and increasing safety. Features like robotic pool cleaners, electric safety covers, have elevated the industry that once depended on hand-packed concrete and mule-pulled carts. Gazing over the history of swimming pools in American, one can’t help but be curious about the future of these visual markers of our nation’s ever evolving creativity, fashions, and values.
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