Deep Eddy Pool
Encyclopedia
Deep Eddy Pool is a historic, man-made swimming pool
in Austin
, Texas
. Deep Eddy is the oldest swimming pool in Texas and features a bathhouse
built during the Depression
era by the Works Progress Administration
. The pool began as a swimming hole in the Colorado River
, became a resort in the 1920s, and is today a popular swimming pool operated by the City of Austin.
. In 1915, A.J. Eilers, Sr. bought the land surrounding the swimming hole and built the concrete pool. The pool served as the centerpiece of a resort, the Deep Eddy Bathing Beach, which featured cabins, camping, and concessions. Lorena's Diving Horse was one popular attraction. As seen in historic photographs, a ramp led to a 50 feet (15.2 m) diving platform over the pool's deep end from which the horse and rider would dive. Other pool amenities included a zip line
across the pool and a tall slide, while other attractions included a diving baby and a Ferris wheel.
In 1935, the City of Austin bought the property for $10,000. Two weeks after the purchase, a massive flood on the Colorado River destroyed the bathhouse and other improvements, and filled the pool with mud and debris. The Works Progress Administration rebuilt the bathhouse and the pool opened as a public park in July 1936.
Over time, the city has put the property to a variety of uses. While the pool continues in operation, the city separated the western edge of the land as a park and playground named after A.J. Eilers. The city also converted Deep Eddy's bathhouse to alternative uses including a long service as a wildlife science exhibit. In 2004, for safety reasons, the city removed the 70-year-old, 50 feet (15.2 m) cottonwoods that surrounded the pool.
Deep Eddy Pool is listed as a historic landmark on the National Register of Historic Places
and has been the inspiration of various works of art. Texas musician Jimmie Dale Gilmore
wrote the song "Deep Eddy Blues" about the pool and the nearby bar, the Deep Eddy Cabaret.
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Deep Eddy is the oldest swimming pool in Texas and features a bathhouse
Public bathing
Public baths originated from a communal need for cleanliness. The term public may confuse some people, as some types of public baths are restricted depending on membership, gender, religious affiliation, or other reasons. As societies have changed, public baths have been replaced as private bathing...
built during the Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
era by the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
. The pool began as a swimming hole in the Colorado River
Colorado River (Texas)
The Colorado River is a river that runs through the U.S. state of Texas; it should not be confused with the much longer Colorado River which flows from Colorado into the Gulf of California....
, became a resort in the 1920s, and is today a popular swimming pool operated by the City of Austin.
History
Deep Eddy began simply as a swimming hole in the Colorado River that flows through Austin. Cold springs rose from the river banks and people swam in the river where a large boulder formed an eddyEddy (fluid dynamics)
In fluid dynamics, an eddy is the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle. The moving fluid creates a space devoid of downstream-flowing fluid on the downstream side of the object...
. In 1915, A.J. Eilers, Sr. bought the land surrounding the swimming hole and built the concrete pool. The pool served as the centerpiece of a resort, the Deep Eddy Bathing Beach, which featured cabins, camping, and concessions. Lorena's Diving Horse was one popular attraction. As seen in historic photographs, a ramp led to a 50 feet (15.2 m) diving platform over the pool's deep end from which the horse and rider would dive. Other pool amenities included a zip line
Zip-line
A zip-line consists of a pulley suspended on a cable mounted on an incline...
across the pool and a tall slide, while other attractions included a diving baby and a Ferris wheel.
Over time, the city has put the property to a variety of uses. While the pool continues in operation, the city separated the western edge of the land as a park and playground named after A.J. Eilers. The city also converted Deep Eddy's bathhouse to alternative uses including a long service as a wildlife science exhibit. In 2004, for safety reasons, the city removed the 70-year-old, 50 feet (15.2 m) cottonwoods that surrounded the pool.
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and has been the inspiration of various works of art. Texas musician Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Jimmie Dale Gilmore is a country singer, songwriter, actor, recording artist and producer, currently living in Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
wrote the song "Deep Eddy Blues" about the pool and the nearby bar, the Deep Eddy Cabaret.
The pool today
Deep Eddy Pool is popular with adult recreational swimmers for its lap swimming pool and with children for its large wading pool. The pool is fed with clear, cold water from a hand-dug 35 feet (10.7 m) well, and is not chlorinated. Water temperature varies between 65 to 75 °F. The lap swimming pool is generally open during daylight hours all year, though hours are shortened during winter months. The wading pool is open March through October. In summer months, the pool sponsors Splash Party Movie Nights, showing family films on a screen visible by swimmers and waders. The pool supports a number of sporting events, including the Deep Eddy Mile swimming competition. The pool area also contains the offices for the City of Austin Aquatics Department, and the pool is used to train incoming City of Austin lifeguards.Bathhouse restoration
Most of the original bathhouse was closed to the public for many years. The Friends of Deep Eddy, a non-profit association of swimmers and other parks advocates, began a fundraising campaign to renovate the bathhouse to its historic condition in 2002. First construction on the project began in 2005 when the Friends group replaced the dilapidated roof. Final construction and reopening of the bathhouse took place in June 2007.External links
- Travis County listings at National Register of Historic Places
- Friends of Deep Eddy
- KXAN-TV News article on Bathhouse Restoration Project
- City of Austin site listing times for Deep Eddy and other pools
- Photos of Deep Eddy Bathhouse restoration
- View a picture of Deep Eddy before the pool was built, and it was just a swimming hole at the University of Houston Digital Library