The History of Swimming Pools
People of all ages turn to a swimming pool for fun and exercise. According to the National Swimming Pool Foundation, in the US there are more than 10 million swimming pools. Not only do Americans love their swimming pools, people in virtually every country around the world enjoy pools. The country with the most pools per capita is New Zealand, with 200,000 pools in a country of 4 million people. It seems everybody knows how fun it is to swim in a pool, yet very few people know the origins of the swimming pool. The invention of the swimming pool can be traced back to more than 5,000 years to Ancient Pakistan and a public water tank. This public pool was called the Great Bath and it measured approximately 40 feet by 23 feet. At its deepest, the Great Bath reached almost eight feet. The Great Bath is still in existence today, and it features intricate edging and wide staircases at either end. The floors and walls were made with tightly fitted bricks covered with a gypsum plaster and then tar.
Surrounding the Great Bath are several large, multi-room buildings. One building contained a well that probably helped to fill the pool. In addition to the well, experts believe rainwater was the primary method of filling the Great Bath because there are no direct inlets from the well to the pool. The Great Bath was built to serve many functions including social and religious events.
The Ancient Greeks and Romans Societies and Their Pools
When looking at the history of swimming pools, no group contributed more than the ancient Greeks and the ancient Romans. Both groups of people made major architectural contributions including in the development of the swimming pool. At this time in history, pools began popping up all over the ancient world. These pools served a multitude of purposes including bathing, religious ceremonies, and symbols of status. Remarkably, during this time in history a pool could enhance a property’s value in a manner very similar to today. The ancient Greeks and Romans used their pools for exercising, military training, socializing and bathing. History shows that swimming pools were important parts of society. The famous Greek philosopher Plato believed learning to swim was as important to a child’s education as math, science and reading. Organized efforts to teach children to swim can be found as early as 400 BC. In 8 BC, the first jacuzzi pool was built. It contained waterfalls and gardens and was incredibly decadent. A few years later, around 38 AD in Japan a new use for pools developed, organized swimming competitions. Competitive swimming quickly spread westward, and by 78 AD the Romans introduced it to the British. The Romans around 300 AD moved swimming pool architecture a quantum leap forward. They built a tremendous pool that covered over 900,000 square feet. Not only was this pool massive in size, but it was also heated by massive fires burning in a subterranean basement below it. This architectural marvel had all of the ornate marble columns and statues typically found in Roman at this time. Swimming pools had evolved into important status symbols for both the Roman and Greek emperors. Their palaces were adorned with magnificent pools surrounded by exquisite landscaping. Not unlike how many of today’s very wealthy members of society live. At this time, many pools contained fish and the word ‘pool’ was derived from the Ancient Latin work ‘piscine’ which means fish. Although incredible events and achievements happened all over the planet, over the next thirteen or fourteen thousand years not much changed for the swimming pool. Pools continued to be built for both communities and individual homeowners. The only major event swimming pool related event that occurred in the 15th century was the Catholic Church banning naked swimming, stating that they believed the practice to be morally corrupt.
More Competitive Uses for Swimming Pools are Created
Not until the 1800s did the world see significant changes and advances to the swimming pool. It was at this time the Germans and Swedes began to conduct diving competitions and practice acrobatic diving in pools. At the same time, competitive swimming continued to evolve. In England, the first indoor pool was built for the National Swimming Society and a major swimming advancement happened. At this time, during a competitive swimming competition only two swimming strokes were used, the breast stroke and a side stroke. Then in 1873, John Trudgen invented the stroke we refer to today as the freestyle or the front crawl. By the early 1900s the popularity of pools continued to soar, pools had become indispensable parts of peoples lives. In 1907, an ocean liner named the Adriatic was built with a pool. The Adriatic was owned by White Star Lines; they also owned the Titanic (which also had a pool). In the US, the first above ground pool was designed by a bridge builder in Philadelphia for the Philadelphia Racquet Club. The first above ground pool was an architectural wonder. A few years later, the first US in-ground pool was built during The Great Depression in Austin, Texas. The pool was funded by a government program called the Works Progress Administration. Shortly after completion, the pool known as Deep Eddy became the focal-point of the Deep Eddy Bathing Beach, a resort on the Colorado River. Deep Eddy is still in use today and is a registered Historic Landmark. Although pools did not become a status symbol in the US until the end of World War II, when the American Dream was born. For the first time, America’s Middle Class had disposable income, and they began to crave activities for their new-found free time. So it made perfect sense to put a swimming pool in people’s backyard, giving them their own little oasis.
The Twentieth Century Pool
As swimming pools continued to become engrained in people’s lives, their styles continued to evolve. In the 1950s as concerns about pool cleanliness developed the use of chemicals like chlorine became popular to keep swimmers safe. In addition to sanitation improvements, advances in plumbing technology fostered a boom in swimming pool architecture. The mid-twentieth century saw the following advances in swimming pool design:
- Infinity edge pools - which offer a side or sides that are not visible became in vogue.
- The zero-entry pool - a pool that allows swimmers to walk into the pool along a gradual incline, much like walking into the ocean.
- Ocean Pools - structures built abutting the surf that capture the ocean’s water and create a pool.
Starting in the 1970s a desire to swim in pools that were not reliant on chemicals began to gain momentum. Pools started to be built with salt water filtration systems. Then in the 1980s, a swimming pool design shift occurred to meet people’s desire to swim in natural pools. These natural pools use plants and other natural components to offer swimmers a clean pool that does not have a negative impact on the environment. No one can predict what advances the future holds for the swimming pool, but it is a certainty they will always be a part of man’s lives.