Deep Eddy Pool facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Deep Eddy Bathing Beach
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Deep Eddy Pool
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| Location | 401 Deep Eddy Ave. Austin, Texas, USA |
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| Area | 9 acres (3.6 ha) |
| Built | July 1936 |
| Architect | Dan Driscoll, Delmar Groos |
| Architectural style | NPS Rustic |
| NRHP reference No. | 03000560 |
| Added to NRHP | 23 June 2003 |
Deep Eddy Pool is a special swimming spot in Austin, Texas. It's a man-made pool with a long and interesting past. Deep Eddy is actually the oldest swimming pool in Texas!
It has a cool building called a bathhouse. This bathhouse was built a long time ago. It was made during the Great Depression, a time when many people needed jobs. The pool started as a natural swimming hole in the Colorado River. Later, it became a fun resort in the 1920s. Today, it's a popular public pool run by the City of Austin.
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Discovering Deep Eddy's Past
Deep Eddy began as a simple swimming hole. It was a part of the Colorado River in Austin. Cold springs bubbled up from the riverbanks. People loved to swim where a big rock created a calm spot, called an eddy.
In 1915, a man named A.J. Eilers, Sr. bought the land. He built the first concrete pool there. This pool became the main attraction of a resort. The resort was called the Deep Eddy Bathing Beach. It had cabins, camping areas, and places to buy snacks.
One very famous attraction was Lorena's Diving Horse! A ramp led to a tall diving platform. From there, a horse and rider would dive into the pool. Imagine seeing that! Other fun things included a zip line across the pool. There was also a tall slide, a diving baby show, and even a Ferris wheel.
A New Start for the Pool
In 1935, the City of Austin bought the property. They paid $10,000 for it. Just two weeks later, a huge flood hit the Colorado River. The flood destroyed the bathhouse and other buildings. It also filled the pool with mud.
The city worked with a group called the Works Progress Administration. They helped pay to rebuild the bathhouse. It was designed by Austin architects Dan Driscoll and Delmar Groos. The pool officially opened as a public park in July 1936.
Over the years, the city has used the land in different ways. The pool is still open for swimming. Part of the land became a park and playground. It was named after A.J. Eilers. The old bathhouse was even used as a wildlife science exhibit for a while. In 2004, some very old, tall cottonwood trees around the pool were removed for safety.
Deep Eddy Pool is a very important place. It's listed as a historic landmark. This means it's a special place from the past. It has also inspired artists. An architect named Dan Driscoll used ideas from Deep Eddy. He used them when he designed the Barton Springs Pool Bathhouse. A Texas musician, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, even wrote a song about the pool! It's called "Deep Eddy Blues."
Deep Eddy Pool Today
Deep Eddy Pool is a favorite spot for many people. Adults enjoy swimming laps in the main pool. Kids love the big wading pool. The pool gets its water from two wells. This water is clear and cold. It's also not treated with chlorine.
The water temperature usually stays between 66 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The lap swimming pool is open almost all year. In the summer, the pool hosts "Splash Party Movie Nights." They show family movies on a giant screen. Swimmers can watch from the water! The pool also holds swimming events. One popular event is the Deep Eddy Mile swimming competition.
Restoring the Bathhouse
For many years, most of the original bathhouse was closed. A group called Friends of Deep Eddy wanted to fix it. They are a non-profit group who love the pool. They started raising money in 2002 to bring the bathhouse back to its original look.
Work began in 2005 when they replaced the old roof. The bathhouse was fully finished and reopened in June 2007.
Pool Upgrades in 2012
In 2012, the City of Austin rebuilt parts of the pool. The pool bottom had cracks and was leaking. Workers replaced or covered the entire pool bottom with new concrete. The west end of the pool was made longer. They also added a "beach-type" entry. This means it's a shallow entry, like walking into the ocean.
The project also fixed the pool walls. They made the pool deck wider. New coping, which is the edge around the pool, was added too. The old pump house building was replaced. A new storage building was also built near the pool.
