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| Florida State Archives |
By Jane Feehan
A story in the Fort Lauderdale Daily News (Nov. 24, 1941) claimed “the pool is filled several times weekly with 420,000 gallons of filtered salt water pumped by three wells from more than 20 feet of rock and shell and sand. The chlorinating system is one of the best in the south.” The municipal building also included a wading pool for children and hundreds of lockers for visitors.
The same story touted the Las Olas Beach Casino and Pool as the “training ground of champions as well as one of the finest pools in the south.” It also hosted an annual national aquatic forum, which drew “the country’s outstanding swimmers and divers from schools and colleges in every corner of the land … [it] is a dripping wet trial session for pet strokes, new dives, water ballets and other natatorial kinks.”
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| Casino Pool 1966 |
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF), constructed a block or two west of the old Casino, was dedicated in 1965. The swim meet in December 1966 drew more than 2,000 participants. CBS sports was on hand to broadcast the event, "a CBS Sports Spectacular."
The ISHOF, now the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center underwent renovations and opened January 2023. Ground was broken in October 2024 for the new ISHOF museum.
It has been a long time since the city was the "swimming capital of the world" or was the site of a televised "sports spectacular."
Copyright © 2020, 2021, 2024. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.
CBS and international swimming:
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/09/17/cbs-sports-international-swimming-league-october-16/
Other sources:
Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 29, 1928
Miami Herald, March 8, 1965
Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 25, 1966
Tags: Fort Lauderdale history, swimming history, Fort Lauderdale in the 1920s, Florida history, architect Francis Abreu, film research
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| Florida State Archive/Florida Memories - mid century |
