The recently constructed Charlie Sava public pool on 19th Avenue and Wawona Street took over a decade. It rightfully claimed its status as the world's largest heated salt-water pool. Maybe it was easier to think big in the 1920s. In summer of 2002 it became a parking lot for zoo visitors.Head to Curbed.com — soon to be part of the New York Magazine family — for must-read stories on S.F., Silicon Valley, the East Bay, and beyond.The renovated home comes with beamed ceilings, leaded windows, and a brick fireplace.It was made by Fascist ruler Mussolini’s bodyguard and official sculptor.The largest of seven units is on the market for the first time.High atop the second highest hill in the city, with a curvy street perfect for skating, skaters took to the streets to protest racism. Jun 16, 2015 - Forgotten and then destroyed by fire, this was once one of the largest saltwater swimming pools in the world. Medal-winning swimmer Ann Curtis set world records in the salt water. Engineer Earl Clements prepared the plans for the pool, while the firm of Ward & Blohme designed the playground structures and the massive bathhouse that still stands today. This month's theme is change. Zoo director Saul L. Kitchener wanted the city to face facts: "While there is no doubt the pool was an audacious project when it was built in 1924, its day has passed." Our first Hidden History spotlights a place well-known to older San Francisco residents, but perhaps unknown to the younger or newer members of the City - Built in 1924 by philanthropist and civic leader Herbert Fleishhacker, the pool opened in 1925, and at 1,000 feet long and 150 feet wide with a separate diving tower, it was the largest pool in the United States. Every time we went to the zoo in the early 1970s my mother would point: "That's where Fleishhacker Pool is. The rise of automobiles meant more families could leave the city for recreation, and the west side of San Francisco didn't get any warmer. The Bold Italic. Please Donate any amount to help keep this non-profit effort going. Fleishhacker Pool, the largest swimming pool in the United States, was located right next to the San Francisco Zoo for 47 years. Download. Fleishhacker Pool was an attraction that was unique to San Francisco. One of the most vocal supporters of Fleishhacker Pool in its last days was an old lifeguard named Billy Nichols. It was the largest swimming pool in the world. Filled with six million gallons of seawater, it had to be patrolled by twelve to twenty-four lifeguards, some in rowboats.
In 1981, bulldozers began pushing debris into the drained pit. San Francisco voters couldn't swallow paying the million dollars proposed to restore the pool and voted it down. Some preservationists and neighbors want the bathhouse to be repaired for a community recreation center and restaurant.
The main pool could accommodate 10,000 swimmers, and was so large that lifeguards used wooden row boats to get across. Connecting people through photography. The Fleishhacker pool and pool house were built in 1924 by philanthropist Herbert Fleishhacker. Inside were lockers and changing rooms for up to 800 swimmers, ocean-facing dining rooms on the top floor, and a mini-hospital to care for slips and falls. Images: Fleishhacker Pool House Back in the 1920s, the Fleishhacker Pool was the finishing touch in "the symbolic 'watering' of San Francisco," and … From the looks of things Helene Madison was not one of the Cadillac swimmers here. Construction began on Fleishhacker Pool in the spring of 1923. Like a grownup version of show-and-tell, each person gets 20Stay up to date! The Zoo and City of San Francisco couldn't think that big when the economy was booming. The pool was the largest swimming pool in the United States. The city tried to use fresh water for the first time, but immediately had an algae problem. A majority of the land it earmarked for a parking lot.

The pool was the largest swimming pool in the United States. 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. Hero photo from the Greg Gaar Collection.