1890: The First Mention of a 'Swimming Pool' in Utah

Rainbow Gardens, in Ogden, had a swimming pool from the 1920s to the 1970s. This photo was taken about 1950, back when ballroom dancing was still in a popular phase.


THE very first mention in Utah newspapers mentioning "swimming pools" was in the Salt Lake Times of April 30, 1890.
"The circular bathing house, the center of it under a glass roof, is a swimming pool. Water is brought in pipes from Beck's Hot Spring," the Times article stated.
A few months earlier, in the Times of Jan, 16, 1890, reported this about the same swimming pool and unusually cold weather:
"The cold weather has not affected the water in the large swimming pool of the Natatorium. The water is 100 degrees in the pool and 120 degrees in the private baths."
-Some months later, on July 8, 1890, the Times newspaper reported on a $200,000 plan to create an even better and larger bathing house near the hot springs. 
-Mormon pioneers learned from the area's Native Americans about the hot springs north of Salt Lake City. By 1850, an official resort was located there.
-When the 20th Century arrived, a shift soon started to colder water swimming pools in Utah. By the 1920s, Lagoon Park in Farming, had a large outdoor pool. Not to say that hot springs didn't still exist -Beck Hot Springs continued until 1951. There was also a Utah Hot Spring, located near the Box Elder-Weber County line, that lasted until the late 1950s. Rainbow Gardens, at the mouth of Ogden Canyon, also had a swimming pool that remained open until 1972.
-It is also interested to note when swimming pool sanitation became a health concern in Utah.
"Take bath before swimming to be edict of measure," was a Jan. 21, 1917 headline in the Salt Lake Telegram newspaper. Later that year on July 31, a new State law took effect that required every person who wanted to enter a public swimming pool had to take a "bath" (shower).
Also, with the same bill, State Inspectors would not regularly scrutinize public pools for sanitation. In addition, any person with the contagious disease was banned from using a swimming pool.