Fleishhacker Pool


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. Upon its completion in 1925, it was one of the largest heated outdoor swimming pools in the world; it remained open for more than four decades until its closure in 1971. It was eventually demolished in 2000.

Construction

The pool was built by philanthropist and civic leader Herbert Fleishhacker in 1924, and opened on April 22, 1925. Measuring and holding of seawater, it accommodated 10,000 bathers and at its opening the largest swimming pool in the United States and one of the largest heated outdoor pools in the world. The pool was so large the lifeguards required rowboats for patrol, and was used by the military for drills and exercises. There were rumors of a shark in the pool. There was also a diving pool measuring square and deep and a two-tiered diving tower.
The water was provided by a series of pumps and piping at high tide, directly from the Pacific Ocean away, filtered, and heated. The pool's heater could warm 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, but in practice tended to vary between 65 and 75 degrees, which many swimmers found chilly.

Decline

After years of underfunding and poor maintenance, the pool was showing some deterioration when a storm in January 1971 damaged its drainage pipe. Usage of the pool had been low, and the repair costs exceeded the City's budget, so the pool was converted fresh water, resulting in poor water quality; it was closed by the end of 1971.
In 1999, the San Francisco Zoological Society was granted ownership of the pool house. The swimming pool itself was filled with rocks and gravel, with the space now serving as a parking lot for the zoo. The poolhouse stood derelict and occupied by wildlife and homeless people for many years until it was destroyed by a fire on December 1, 2012. The remaining ruins were demolished, and only a fragment consisting of three ornate entrances remains.