A pool has always been a good way to beat the Arizona heat, with the oldest man-made pools predating the state.
Even those who lived in Arizona in the 1800s were smart enough to realize the desert is too hot and its residents were in dire need of some aquatic relief. Although Arizona has plenty of natural water, such as creeks, lakes and waterfalls, many are hidden within the mountains.
Early Phoenix residents even swam in the canals before pools started popping up, around metro Phoenix.
However, one southern Arizona town started the trend of public swimming pools and is possibly the oldest operating municipal swimming pool in the US.
Oldest pool in Arizona
The first recorded pool in Arizona is the Tombstone Municipal Swimming Pool, built in 1883.
A.J. Mitchell and Otis Pring built the Tombstone Municipal Swimming Pool, which was referred to as a “bath house” when it was first built.
The water from the pool was supplied by the Huachuca Water Company. The pool had dressing rooms, a drink bar and a shaded area alongside the pool, creating for a pretty sophisticated public pool for its time.
It should come as no surprise that Arizona’s first pool was in Tombstone. Given the abundance of silver being produced in Tombstone around the late 1800s, the pool and its cosmopolitan setup reflected the wealth within the small mining community.
Throughout the pool’s 143-year history, it’s been through several reconstructions and closures, which were even documented by The Arizona Republic in 1935. However, the Tombstone Municipal Swimming Pool is still open and free to the public, making it America’s oldest operating public pool.
Other historic Arizona pools
Tempe Beach was built in 1923 and was Arizona’s first Olympic-sized swimming pool. It even hosted a women’s national championship swimming competition in 1932. A month after the 1932 Summer Olympics, American gold medalist Eleanor Holm beat her own record in the 220-yard backstroke in the Tempe Beach pool.
Tempe Beach was also the site of a landmark win for Mexican-American rights in Phoenix. When it opened, the Tempe Chamber of Commerce had a strict “No Mexicans Allowed” policy for the pool. Mexican-American World War II veterans met with Tempe Chamber of Commerce members to remove the discriminatory policy.
One downside of the pool was that due to the lack of filtration, the Tempe Beach pool was often murky and had to be drained several times a week. As more modernized pools popped up around Phoenix, Tempe Beach’s popularity declined, and it was drained for good in 1974.
Cottonwood Pool, which opened in 1946, was located at 4524 N. Seventh Street by the Grand Canal. Like many pools of its kind, icy cold water from wells fed the pool and the overflow went back into the canal.
Broadway Pool, located at approximately 20th Avenue and Broadway, was also filled with icy cold well water. The sea-blue paint of the pool with silver trim was something to see, along with its high and low diving boards. The teen club Hullabaloo opened on the site of that pool in 1967.
Joyland Pool near 35th Street and Van Buren boasted the largest pool in the Valley at 220 feet long when it opened in 1924. It had a sandy beach, multiple diving towers and a slide.
Reporting by Paige Moore and Shelby Slade, Arizona Republic
