Fleishhacker Pool, San Francisco, CA (Photo by Buyenlarge/Getty Images) Buyenlarge/Bob Bragman Show More Show Less 7 of 20. All rights reserved. Sitting behind fencing, abandoned and with the roof slowly caving in, in its last years the poolhouse was mostly populated by raccoons and the occasional bold squatter, while hope remained in some quarters for a restoration before it was too late. Find art you love and shop high-quality art prints, photographs, framed artworks and posters at Art.com. Its storied history includes movie stars the 1920’s and 1930’s such as Johnny Weismuller, Esther Williams and Ann Curtis. Home to an endangered salamander, a full moon celebration, and a large spring-fed outdoor swimming pool. We're pleased as punch to present the first entry in an ongoing series titled Hidden History, where Curbed Contributor Alex Bevk highlights a San Francisco location with a secret past. Originally located where the current San Francisco Zoo parking lot sits, the public pool operated from 1925 - 1971. The sole surviving relic of the San Francisco neighborhood cobbled together from old horsecars and streetcars. The San Francisco Zoo, (previously Fleishhacker Zoo) is a zoo in San Francisco, California housing more than 250 different animal species. your own Pins on Pinterest The pool was built by philanthropist and civic leader Herbert Fleishhacker in 1924, and opened on April 22, 1925. July 5, 1961: Fleishhacker Pool thrived until the early 1960s. For many years, Fleishhacker Pool continued to operate for swimmers and special swimming events. In the early 1940s, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company began the creation of the enormous Parkmerced apartment community on the south side of the lake, while the Standard Building Company opened up the Lakeshore tract on the north side. One of San Francisco Zoo & Gardens' most unique attractions isn't an animal, instead it's a rare miniature steam train known affectionately as "Little Puffer." Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). When it was opened in 1925, the Fleishhacker Pool was the largest saltwater heated pool in the U.S. For 25 cents people could rent a bathing suit and towel and use the pool facilities. When San Francisco opened the Fleishhacker Pool to the public in 1925, it was thought to be one of the largest in the world. Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. The historic Fleishhacker Pool House burned to the ground Saturday morning, marking a tragic end for the iconic San Francisco structure that once served the largest pool in the world. The structure is across from the zoo's main entrance and to the right. Atlas Obscura and our trusted partners use technology such as cookies on our website to personalise ads, support social media features, and analyse our traffic. Fleishhacker Pool was a popular pool in San Francisco that was filled with ocean water. Sadly, on December 1, 2012 fire broke out at the abandoned building and destroyed any hope of salvation. Upon its completion in 1925, it was one of the largest h At the age of 25, Aaron Fleishhacker immigrated to the United States, first settling in New Orleans. [1], After years of underfunding and poor maintenance, the pool was showing some deterioration when a storm in January 1971 damaged its drainage pipe. The bathhouse building for the old Fleishhacker Pool on the San Francisco Zoo grounds caught fire this weekend. Fleishhacker Pool or Delia Fleishhacker Memorial Building was a public saltwater swimming pool located in the southwest corner of San Francisco, California, United States, next to the San Francisco Zoo at Sloat Boulevard and the Great Highway. [1][5][6] The remaining ruins were demolished, and only a fragment consisting of three ornate entrances remains. Offer subject to change without notice. [3], In 1999, the San Francisco Zoological Society was granted ownership of the pool house. Discover (and save!) Winner will be selected at random on 01/01/2021. Fleishhacker Pool, located at Sloat Boulevard and the Great Highway, may still hold its superlative title at a length of 1000 feet, width of 150 feet at the midsection, a depth of 5 to 14 feet, and a capacity of 6,000,000 gallons of salt water. There were rumors of a shark in the pool. Europe’s most powerful hot spring supplies the surrounding region with hot water. See. The pool's heater could warm 2,800 US gal (11,000 L) of seawater from 60 degrees to 75 degrees Fahrenheit each minute, in theory providing a constant pool water temperature of 72 degrees for AAU swim meets,[3] but in practice tended to vary between 65 and 75 degrees, which many swimmers found chilly. The pool closed in 1971 and was eventually acquired by the adjacent SF Zoo, which filled in the giant pool to make its present parking lot. 135. July 19, 1949: A swim meet at Fleishhacker Pool, which opened in … How Did Madagascar Become the World's Biggest Producer of Vanilla? There, he engaged in a general merchandise business. Upon its completion in 1925, it was one of the largest heated outdoor swimming pools in the world and remained open for more than four … Fleishhacker Pool or Delia Fleishhacker Memorial Building was a public saltwater swimming pool located in the southwest corner of San Francisco, California, United States, next to the San Francisco Zoo at Sloat Boulevard and the Great Highway. Built in 1924 by wealthy philanthropist Herbert Fleishhacker and situated next to the San Francisco Zoo, the pool itself had the capacity for 10,000 swimmers in its heyday. The world's largest swimming pool of its time opened in San Francisco in 1925. Apr 1, 2020 - This Pin was discovered by Sparklies by Annie. This stop on the Camino de Santiago stands high above the underwater ruins of a medieval town. [2] The pool was so large the lifeguards required rowboats for patrol, and was used by the military for drills and exercises. Private Trip: Immersive Art and Otherworldly Landscapes of Santa Fe, Weird Homes Holiday Tour: Decked Out Collections, A Holiday Gathering: Food, Foraging, and Mythology, Tales From the Museum: Best of Museums A-Z, Detangling the Devilish Origins of Scandinavia's St. Lucia Buns, This 19th-Century Cocktail Still Fights Cold Nights in the Midwest, Cultural Heritage Is Caught Up in the Conflict Over Nagorno-Karabakh. Discover Fleishhacker Pool Ruins in San Francisco, California: Forgotten and then destroyed by fire, this was once one of the largest saltwater swimming pools in the world. All that remians of the great Fleishhacker Pool. San Francisco, CA 94132 (415) 753-7080 www.sfzoo.org ©2009 San Francisco Zoological Society YEARS 1 9 2 9 - 2 0 9 SAN FRANCISCO ZOO About the Cover: Zoo’s first director, George Bistany, with a young orangutan in the 1930s. I have just modified 2 external links on Fleishhacker Pool. Measuring 1,000 by 150 ft (300 by 50 m) and holding 6,500,000 US gal (25,000,000 L) of seawater, it accommodated 10,000 bathers and at its opening the largest swimming pool in the United States[1] and one of the largest heated outdoor pools in the world. And for those who know it's history, it's also the "little engine that could." Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. At the edge of the pool stood its beautiful pool house, which for years after the pool disappeared under the concrete of the parking lot in 1999, remained as a silent and graffiti covered reminder of what once was. The swimming pool itself was filled with rocks and gravel, with the space now serving as a parking lot for the zoo. Fleishhacker Pool, Now a Parking Lot. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. © 2020 Atlas Obscura. 100% satisfaction guaranteed. You would take a leap of faith and step off the top platform, a distance of some thirty feet to the water (at that end, it was fifteen feet deep). [1] There was also a diving pool measuring 50 ft (15 m) square and 14 ft (4.3 m) deep and a two-tiered diving tower. In 1922, Fleishhacker claimed the ideal setting for his zoo, purchasing from the Spring Valley Water Company a 30-acre site (now 99 acres) near the ocean in the southwestern corner of San Francisco. Water was pumped in from the ocean nearby, and, amazingly, was heated to a delightful 65-75 degrees. The city’s Fleishhacker Pool, created in the 1920s, grew to become the San Francisco Zoo. Fleishhacker Pool, the largest swimming pool in the United States, was located right next to the San Francisco Zoo for 47 years. [7], Fleishhacker Pool and Bath House (closed) (1979), U.S. National Register of Historic Places, "The largest pool in the U.S. was once in San Francisco", "Fleishhacker Pool House Next To SF Zoo On Fire", "Fleishhacker bathhouse facing demolition", List of 26 photos of Fleishhacker Pool at Library of Congress, Ocean Beach Bulletin: "Before Now – Fleishhacker Pool and its 6 million gallons", Terrastories.com: Contemporary photos of the Fleishhacker Bath House & History of the Pool, SFgate.com: "Shrinkage: The vanishing swimming pools of San Francisco", Bcx.news: "Fleishhacker Pool 1954 by San Francisco Zoo, San Francisco, California", Guidelines-Newsletter for San Francisco Guides and Sponsors: "Fleishhacker Pool" by James Smith, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fleishhacker_Pool&oldid=981868370, Demolished buildings and structures in San Francisco, Mediterranean Revival architecture in California, Buildings and structures demolished in 2000, Articles with dead external links from April 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 4 October 2020, at 21:57. Fleishhacker Pool, San Francisco, California Art Print. Deep below the dry landscape of Bahia, a cave with intense blue water to float in. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. Article by Curbed. Fleishhacker Pool or Delia Fleishhacker Memorial Building was a public saltwater swimming pool located in the southwest corner of San Francisco, California, United States, next to the San Francisco Zoo at Sloat Boulevard and the Great Highway. It rightfully claimed its status as the world's largest heated salt-water pool. The tank had no filtration system. Fleishhacker Pool or Delia Fleishhacker Memorial Building was a public saltwater swimming pool located in the southwest corner of San Francisco, California, United States, next to the San Francisco Zoo at Sloat Boulevard and the Great Highway. Zoological Society was granted ownership of the most complete of its time opened in San Francisco Zoo parking. 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