Pool postcards: Blackheath, NSW



Postcard date unknown - but I am guessing 1950s/60s?

 Below: photos of Blackheath pool from October 2006. Blackheath is in the Upper Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. It has cold winters. This pool is seasonal. opening between late Novemeber and the end of March.

Here's a Blog from the group Friends of Blackheath Pool and their Facebook page

Pool postcard: Manly, NSW

Let's change continents for a while and have a look at some Australian pools. My collection of vintage Australian postcards is not as large, and I'd love more!

This harbourside pool was built in 1931 by the Port Jackson Steamship Company. It opened in December that year and was described as "the finest swimming pool in Australia." It was the largest.

I swam here once, in January 1967. The boardwalks still existed, but I think the diving boards and waterwheels had disappeared by then. Does anyone else have any memories of swimming here?

It was destroyed in a huge storm in 1974. Cost defeated a 1984 proposal to rebuild the boardwalks.

Pool postcard: Hot Springs, Virginia

The Homestead Resort

A luxury resort founded in 1766. The modern resort dates from about 1882.

Pool postcard: Call of the Canyon Resort, Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona

Another postcard from a gorgeous setting.


Oak Creek Canyon is a popular tourist destination in Arizona, not far from the Grand Canyon, at Sedona. Portions are federal wilderness areas.


I suspect the resort no longer exists.


I found a video on You Tube in which a group of young people explore the Call Of The Canyon area on a camping trip - it appears there are remains of what look like ruined buildings, perhaps from this resort (first part of video)

And here's some absolutely gorgeous photos of the canyon in various seasons.

Pool postcard: Fort McClellan, Anniston, Alabama



Fort McClellan, 2.5 miles northeast of Anniston, Alabama, is one of the largest training areas in USA. Posted 1944

At the time this postcard was written, Fort McClellan was the headquarters for the 92nd Division, the Army's second African-American division, activated on October, 1942. At least 6,500 men from the 92nd were trained at Fort McClellan. The 92nd was deactivated in 1945.

In 1943 it had become the base for the Infantry Replacement Training Center (IRTC). Basic training  included situations corresponding to combat in European areas such as training within simulated urban areas, actions under live artillery fire, and crouching in foxholes with tanks moving overhead.

It was also a POW camp.

It closed in 1999.

The postcard was addressed to Mr Ralph Shastany of St Johnsburg Virginia, from 31467145 Pvt Romeo ?? and reads:

 "Hello Shay

How are you. I'm find an now I'm in my new camp an I like it. well Shay I won't be able to see you before 17 weeks from now an then I'll have 10 day to go home I hope. done work to hard. write to me. From Romeo.



Pool postcard: The Plunge, Bella Vista, Arkansas

From the Old State House Museum Arkansas News Archive website about the opening in summer 1931:

"Bella Vista's Plunge Pool Heads List of Resort Outdoor Activities

BELLA VISTA - Swimming, diving, water polo, and hours of thrills on the exciting water await visitors young and old this summer of 1931 at Bella Vista's Plunge, the largest open-air swimming pool in Arkansas.

Constructed at a cost of $20,000, the pool is 54 feet wide and 200 feet long. It ranges in depth from wading for babies to a safe diving depth for older children. Floating barrels and water slides are also available.

Electric floodlights make night bathing delightful in the pure spring water. Supplied from the resort's Big Spring, water is first piped to a warming reservoir and held all day. Every night, after bathers have retired to their cabins, the huge pool is drained and its concrete sides and bottom are cleaned: Then the warm water is released to refill the pool and make ready for another day of water recreation."

Pool postcard: University of California, Berkeley

Strawberry Canyon Pool

I just love this card: the setting and rustic charm is gorgeous! This is the Strawberry Canyon pool was a men's only facility from when it was opened in 1911, to 1943 when it was opened to women. There is still a pool complex there, which replaced the original in 1959.

This site, Gay Bears : the hidden history of the Berkeley Campus has an excerpt from a novel set in 1919, and a poem from 1930 set at the pool.

Pool postcard: Miami Beach Casino, Florida

"These two large Roman pools, besides being a source of pleasure for surf bathers at all times, are also the scene of winter swimming contests, where the country's champions compete. Here are also staged numerous bathing girl revues throughout the season, these attractions drawing immense crowds."

Information from Windmill World website (there's also some links to more pictures on that site)

"Carl Fisher was the leading light in developing Miami Beach into a vibrant and popular destination in the 1920s. At that time he built a casino hotel at what is now the South end of Miami Beach, with large swimming pools, known as the Roman pools. On the seaward side of the pools was a large windmill, which it's been suggested was utilized to pump seawater into the pools.
 
The windmill, regularly described as a Dutch mill (but that's just to make it clear that it was not simply a skeleton windpump, or wind engine) was a tower mill which pictures show in multiple orientations, so its clear that the cap and sails could revolve. However, I've not come across any pictures that prove that the sails were workable - most pictures show a very flat cross as shown above, which tends to suggest its major use was just as a advertisment for the casino. Some images do show a fantail atached to the cap, so its quite possible that it was a working system once, but later replacement sails may simply have been ornamental. "

Pool postcard: Bathing Casino, Palm Beach, Florida

"Here society indulges in aquatic sports and many handsome costumes are displayed". Postmarked Nov 2, 1921

This is a postcard of the bathing casino at the Breakers Hotel. The photograph at right appears on the website of Florida Memory Division of Library and Information Services . It is dated 1905.

These days it boasts five oceanside pools.

Pool postcard: Municipal swimming pool, Griffin Georgia

Postmarked August 22, 1947

I understand there is still a pool in the City Park. The attached photo is from a swim meet at City Park pool in which the Griffin Gators triumphed

Griffin Daily News report.

Pool postcard: City Park, Belfast, Maine

The site Friends of Belfast Parks tells us:

BELFAST CITY PARK was founded in 1904 by a group of local women activists, called the Belfast Improvement Society.

The gentle slope and extensive beach area are attractive features of this park alongside Penobscot Bay. Basketball courts, tennis courts, a Little League baseball field, horseshoe pits, a playgound, and a swimming pool bring thousands of people to this 15-acre gem of a park each year.



July 16, 2008 City Park swimming pool

 In searching for a modern picture of the pool, I found this blog,  by Astrig and Steve. Astrig writes:

"...we head over to the Belfast City Park which is also along the waterfront. Here the city maintains a public swimming pool which is very clean and at a comfortable temperature while not being overly chlorinated. People who use YMCA pools will know the chlorine burn of which I speak. It’s a joy to swim outdoors and I spend some time here swimming laps."

I collect vintage postcards of swimming pools. I plan to post one a day as far as possible. If you know any of these places, especially the fate of the pool, I'd love to hear from you!

Pool postcard: St Cloud, Minnesota



Municipal swimming pool, St Cloud, Minnesota

Information about this pool from this site:

July 1947 - The St. Cloud Municipal Swimming Pool was dedicated. The pool was Minnesota's first outdoor Olympic-size pool and cost $170,000 to build. The dressing house is Georgian Revival style and was built during the Works Progress Administration. In the 1950s it was used by as many as 2,000 swimmers a day, 60,000 in the summer of 1955.

September 2002 - The St. Cloud Municipal Swimming Pool closed because of declining attendance and the need to replace an expensive chlorine treatment system.

June 2007 - A new splash pad was installed to replace the swimming pool. Also, a public restroom and concession building, plaza, picnic areas and new playground area was completed to complement the historic character of the area.

May 2008 - The Lake George Community Center opens in Eastman Park. The community center is housed in the historic dressing house. The dressing house building was reused with a complete interior remodel. The historic character of the dressing house was preserved.


I collect vintage postcards of swimming pools. I plan to post one a day as far as possible. If you know any of these places, especially the fate of the pool, I'd love to hear from you!

Pool postcard: Municipal pool, Grand Island, Nebraska



Postmarked Sep 13, 1953

 These days Grand Island is home to about 49 000 people. Its most famous son was Henry Fonda. His bio says he was a keen swimmer. Maybe that's Henry in the front there!!!

I collect vintage postcards of swimming pools. I plan to post one a day as far as possible. If you know any of these places, especially the fate of the pool, I'd love to hear from you!

Pool postcard: Peony Park, Omaha, Nebraska

Sadly, this one has gone, and is a strip mall (shopping mall).

From Wikipedia:

Peony Park was an amusement park, founded in 1919. It closed in 1994.

Segregation
The park was strictly segregated until 1963. Earlier, in 1955, the State of Nebraska took Peony Park to district court over its segregated swimming policy. In State of Nebraska v. Peony Park, the court found that under Nebraska Civil Rights Law Peony Park discriminated against African American swimmers at the Amateur Athletic Union Swimming Meet held at the park on August 27, 1955. During that event, two African American participants were barred from the meet because Peony Park barred them from pool. On September 7, 1955, the court fined Peony Park $50 and costs of the trial. Additional civil suits were settled out of court.
Continuing racial tension in Omaha led to the youth activists leading protests which brought down the color barrier at the park and added to the civil rights movement in the city. The Omaha Star newspaper made a name for itself during this period, mixing "light news" and entertainment with articles about the incident, segregationist policies around the city and the ongoing trial.

Water slides and pool - pool added 1926
The pool and surrounding sand beach occupied 4.5 acres (18,000 m²) of the park. Holding approximately five million gallons of filtered, chlorinated water, the seven hundred foot-long pool was supplied by spring water from artesian wells. The depth ranged from one foot to 10 feet (3.0 m).

Peony Park was home to three water slides. In 1983 there was an endurance competition in which the winner, a student at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, slid down the four-story water slide at Peony Park 1,710 times in 87 hours and 19 minutes. For winning he won $1,300, a 1950 vintage Coke machine, a moped, waterbed, stereo and other prizes offered by radio station Sweet 98 (KQKQ-FM), sponsor of the event.

Peony Park Today
The park was put up for sale in 1993 due to dwindling revenue and high operational costs. Many attempts to save the park and keep it open failed. The park had too short of a season and not a big enough population base to make a profit. A commercial land developer bought the land with plans to develop it into a shopping center. The park officially closed after the 1994 summer season.

Today, Peony Park is a strip mall with restaurants, a bank, and a grocery store. The only remaining structure from the original park still standing today is the Keno parlor and a short section of the original fence surrounding the park, left by the property owners as a tribute.

Pool postcard: Allegheny State Park, New York

From the diving platform, this appears to be a more formal pool, but resembling an area called the 'Old Mud Hole'. I found the pictures below at the site Allegany State Park Historical Society. Note that the postcard I have spells it "Allegheny". The photos below are labelled early 1930s, and it looks to be the same era as the postcard.

I collect vintage postcards of swimming pools. I plan to post one a day as far as possible. If you know any of these places, especially the fate of the pool, I'd love to hear from you!

Pool postcard: Water ballet, Jones Beach State Park, Long Island. New York

Esther Williams, eat your heart out!

This pool still exists. Apparently it was closed in the summer of 2009 due to economic cutbacks. Up to 10 000 people a day were using it on a weekend day. By 2010 the other pool was also closed. Read more here.

I collect vintage postcards of swimming pools. I plan to post one a day as far as possible. If you know any of these places, especially the fate of the pool, I'd love to hear from you!

Pool postcard: Watkins Glen State Park, New York

Here's a You Tube video of the pool

Pool postcard: Riverside Park, Minot North Dakota

The Minot Visitors and Conention Centre does not list this under the city's recreational swimming facilities, so I guess it doesn't exist any more.

I collect vintage postcards of swimming pools. I plan to post one a day as far as possible. If you know any of these places, especially the fate of the pool, I'd love to hear from you!

Pool postcard: Navarre Park, Toledo, Ohio

In 2010 it was announced that the Navarre Park pool would open at a date later than other Toledo pools. There seemed to be some controversy about pools in the city, with some being damaged, according to the Toledo Blade.  Anyway, I guess this means that a pool still exists in Navarre Park.




I collect vintage postcards of swimming pools. I plan to post one a day as far as possible. If you know any of these places, especially the fate of the pool, I'd love to hear from you!

Pool postcard: Hershey Park swimming pool, Hershey Pennsylvania

The information on the reverse of the card reads:

"Hershey teaches its employees not only how to work but how to play. In Hershey Park there is ecevry facility for indoor and outdoor sport. The Hershey Park pool, with its fifty-foot coaster, will accommodate several thousand bathers."

Hershey Park (now called Hersheypark) was founded in 1907 by Milton S. Hershey, as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company. It is now a full scale amusement park.

On this blog, Hershey Community Archives, we learn that the first concrete pool was constructed in 1911, and a few years later the pool was enlarged the wooden toboggan ride, visible in the postcard was added. The postcard seems to date from that era.

In 1929 a new pool complex (circular baby pool, diving poool, swimming pool and wading pool) was added. From the pool you could hear the great bands in the adjacent Ballroom - the likes of Jimmy Dorsey, Glenn Miller and Harry James.

The pool was closed following the 1971 summer season. Today all that remains is an ornamental lighthouse.

I think this is also an interesting artefact from the days of "corporate towns", when the company provided for the welfare of its employees, rather along the lines of Robert Owen's early vision in New Lanark, or the Port Sunlight (built by the Lever Borthers of Sunlight Soap fame) in England.

I collect vintage postcards of swimming pools. I plan to post one a day as far as possible. If you know any of these places, especially the fate of the pool, I'd love to hear from you!