Pleasure Pool

Ancient societies formed the first ripples of what would become today’s swimming pool. One of the earliest of these spaces dates back to 2500 BCE in the Indus Valley of Pakistan, although it likely was only used for religious functions. In ancient Egypt, royalty and the richest classes installed private pools in their gardens, while the twin pools called Kuttam Pokuna in Sri Lanka are thought to have been used for bathing and recreation by monks and royalty. And much later, the Roman Empire ushered in the golden age of ancient hydrotherapy with a massive system of public baths.

Credit for the first heated pool goes to Gaius Maecenas, a wealthy arts patron and advisor to Augustus Ceasar, who built it in his gardens during the first century BCE.

Between that first dip to the end of the fifth century BCE, the Romans built 856 public baths, each heated using a furnace-based system in a subfloor beneath. (And, they introduced the custom along the paths of their conquests, through Spain, England and farther.) 

As these termae (Italian for “hot springs”) increased in number and popularity, they transformed to more than just places for personal hygiene. Rather, the pools became the new social hotspots where citizens could discuss politics, share gossip, and recreate. Larger spaces often included rooms with pools of different temperatures, steam and massage room, and a separate pool for swimming.  ▪

While pools were subject to all the prejudices and injustices of the day (including, most notably, race as detailed in Contested Waters: A Social History of Swimming Pools in America By Jeff Wiltse), one of the more curious episodes was the American obsession with hygiene. In the 19^th century, diseases were thought to stem from "miasma" (bad air and odors), and civic leaders hit upon the idea of municipal pools to reduce illnesses. Built mainly in working class neighborhoods, these were places intended for bathing and hygiene, not recreation.

One of the first was the Cabot Street Bath, which opened in Boston in 1868. Fortunately for us, rather than bathing and cleansing, pool goers splashed, swam and played; and instead of being used by working adults, pool frequenters were mostly children. Despite their best efforts to control this unruliness, city officials closed the facility just a few years later. Allowing the poor to bathe was one thing, especially when public health was concerned. But allowing them to have fun? Out of the question for Boston's Brahmins.

Luckily for the pool, around this time interest in swimming as recreation began to increase in both the U.S. and abroad, ushering in a new modern era for the swimming pool.

Paris opened its first public pools in the 1880s, the oldest of which, the Château-Landon, is still open today. In the U.S., cities like Chicago and Philadelphia also began building public pools. 

And now, urban reformers had changed their opinions on pools yet again, seeing them as a “tool for resisting man’s ‘feminization’ with the rise of more sedentary careers in law, academics, or business.” Again, officials tried unsuccessfully to prevent playful splashing, eventually theorizing that such exercise might exhaust energy that otherwise could be spent on crime or other illicit activities, as well as way to keep working class youth off the streets, according to Ryan Reft.  ▪

As the pool and the world entered the twentieth century, both witnessed a series of watershed moments that changed leisure culture. Municipal pools were seen as places for recreation — both via exercise as well as amusement. With the added purpose of fun came changes in size (larger to accommodate more people), shape (rectangles yielded to rounded curves), and access points (diving boards, slides, and varying depths).

They also grew in numbers. In the period between the prosperous 1920s through the New Deal funding of the 1930s, the United States saw the construction of nearly 2000 new municipal pools. In the UK, lidos (outdoor pools with surrounding facilities, changing areas, and beaches) began making a splash.  ▪

Propelled by the post-war boom in the US, the move to the suburbs, and by the glitz of Hollywood, the number of backyard pools skyrocketed to 11,000 by 1947. Construction innovations also made prices more affordable for the middle class. Americans dove in — in 1959 alone, over 46,000 residential pools were built.

It became a new golden age for swimming pools. Their presence was splashed in articles and advertisements throughout popular publications. They starred in movies like Sunset Boulevard and The Graduate.

Before long, the swimming pool became synonymous with gracious living — the modern, aspirational lifestyle that propelled much of the midcentury. Photographs by Julius Shulman, Leland Lee, Ben Schnall, and Slim Aarons depicted a glamorous image of modern life with the swimming pool at its center.

In time-honored tradition, what was good for the upper classes became a status symbol for the aspirational, a symbol of “arrival.” Middle-class families were even encouraged to "Get in the Swim!” by purchasing a home with a pool – a feature made possible by the large lots and backyards of the popular Ranch-style house.

Even those who had no desire to get wet would commission a pool for its status, symbolism, and its ability to create a powerful focal point (and mood) for an outdoors space. Although with concerns of climate change and water usage, we’re looking forward to seeing how forward-thinking designers can address this particular part of the pool’s legacy.  ▪

And, looking to the Future

Whether in the backyard or as a resort's coveted (and highly Instagrammed) crown jewel, the pool remains a status symbol, place to preen, and the stuff of fantasy. It is both a gathering spot for friends and a place to escape. And, the pool continues to be a prominent cultural signal, its presence seen everywhere from David Hockney’s art to movies to music to TikTok. 

But where does the pool go next?
How will it shape culture and dreams… and design?  ▪

Pool art by David Hockney