SWIMMING POOLS
Washington Pool, 1601 E. Indiana
| Open Swim |
Mon., Wed., Fri., Sat., Sun.: |
2:00 PM - 7:00 PM |
| Tues., Thur.: |
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM |
| Family Swim |
| Tues., Thur.: |
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM |
| Open Saturday May 27 through Friday August 11 |
Douglas Russell Pool, 900 N. Midland Dr.
| Open Swim |
| Mon., Wed., Fri., Sat., Sun.: |
2:00 PM - 7:00 PM |
| Tues., Thur.: |
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM |
| Family Swim |
| Tues., Thur.: |
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM |
Open Saturday May 27 through Friday August 11
Doug Russell will be closed the weekend of June 23-25 |
Fees
Children |
$1.50 |
| Adults |
$3.00 |
| Family |
$4.50 |
Swimming Lessons
Douglas Russell Pool:
Mon. - Thurs., June 5 through July 27. |
| Registration will take place at the pool during lesson times beginning May 31. Fee: $25 |
HISTORY OF SWIMMING IN THE CITY OF MIDLAND
Public swimming in the City of Midland dates back to 1915. The first public swimming hole was a tank located on Cloverdale Farms. Cloverdale Farms was originally a part of the Quien Sabe Ranch and was located on Cloverdale Road east of Midland. While this site was considered a public park prior to the City of Midland's ownership, it did not actually become publicly owned until 1926. In 1950, this site was renamed A.B. Cole Park, however it was used for public swimming only up into the 1940's.
In 1936, the City of Midland purchased a large tract of land located at the intersections of Highway 80 and State Highway 158 in west Midland. Shortly after, the City constructed a swimming pool at a location that was approximately where the Folgers Superstore is now located. The pool featured a fountain in the middle and was surrounded by cabanas on all sides. While it is significant that this was the first public swimming pool in Midland, it is probably more significant that it was the only public swimming facility between El Paso and Fort Worth during the late 1930's and World War II years. Pagoda Park remained in existence until the early 1950's.
In 1953, the City Council passed two resolutions which funded five new swimming pools in neighborhood areas. These facilities were completed during the later part of 1953 and early 1954 and were open to the public the following summer. The pools were located at Hogan Park, Hidalgo Park, Washington Park, Halff Park and Ulmer Park. These pools were extensively utilized for a great part of the following twenty years.
In 1962, the City built Alamo Pool which was constructed on a site adjacent to Alamo Junior High School in west Midland. Alamo Pool was the first 50 meter pool built in the City and was greatly utilized because of its expansive shallow depth areas. The Alamo Pool was later renamed the Doug Russell Swimming Pool in honor of native Midlander Doug Russell who won two gold medals for the USA Team in the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City.
Approximately five years after the opening of Doug Russell Swimming Pool, Hidalgo Park swimming pool incurred structural problems relative to its site on what was the former City of Midland landfill. This feasibility study resulted in a recommendation that the swimming pool be closed to the public and this was done during 1967. A similar fate came to the Hogan Park swimming pool during the early 1980's. Of the remaining four public swimming pools, all of these sites received renovations between 1976 and 1984. At the time, it was generally felt that this would insure the lives of these facilities up until the early 1990's.
In 1993, once again a feasibility study was conducted on the three oldest swimming pools. This study revealed that electrical systems were outdated on all three swimming pools and that major structural damage had occurred on the Halff Park swimming pool. Renovation of each pool was projected to cost in excess of $200,000.00. Halff Park swimming Pool was closed permanently due to the extensive nature of the structural damage and $10,000.00 was spent on the remaining two pools to upgrade electrical systems and sustain their usefullness.
After much consideration, it was generally felt that it would be more appropriate to build one large size swimming pool to serve all of east Midland. This was due to the decline of use at each of the three smaller facilities. Furthermore, it was determined that the remaining two pools that were constructed during the 1950's should be closed upon completion of the new facility. Much of the decline in public swimming can be attributed to the increase in the numbers of pools located at residences, apartments, private clubs, health clubs, and non-profit association facilities. Another great factor is that water theme parks have become more prevalent in smaller size cities.
During the past fifteen years, much has changed with regard to public swimming concepts. Many of the pools which were built for public use during the 1950's through the 1970's were developed with much influence by the Amateur Athletic Union. The majority of these pools were designed as lap swimming pools with diving well features to accommodate the competitive programs which were developed by the AAU for the US Olympic Committee. The majority of these pools were 25 yard pools with over 50% devoted to the diving well which did not create much opportunity for children to enjoy fun recreational play.
More recently, public swimming facilities have mirrored the features found in water theme parks in the interest of drawing more participants to the facilities. These features include zero depth entry, water slide features, small diving well areas, lap pool areas, spray and splash pool features. Zero depth entry is a feature which allows the participants to enter the water along the edge of the pool and gradually wade to a depth of approximately three to four feet. This allows for much use by families with smaller children for refreshing and relaxing enjoyment. Water slide features have been developed which involve climbing to a tower as high as twenty to thirty feet in the air and descending to the pool waters on a long tube slide along distances between seventy-five and two hundred feet. Spray and splash pool features have been developed to project water into the air in a fountain like atmosphere for the enjoyment of children of all ages. It is this type of pool concept that the City of Midland hopes to develop for its citizens.
In addition to the recreational pool concepts which have been represented, it is the intent of the City of Midland to develop the new family recreational aquatic center with picnic areas, playground areas, and other forms of recreation such as sand volleyball. The primary objective is to create a place in which families may congregate for recreational enjoyment. This design would also greatly facilitate use by church's, non-profit agencies, and visitors to our City. Design on this facility is anticipated to begin in the next few months with construction planned for late 1995 and early 1996.
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