Fleishhacker Pool Former location

The vast parking lot beneath your feet hides the former basin of what was once the largest outdoor saltwater swimming pool in the United States. Spanning one thousand feet in length, the Fleishhacker Pool was so colossal that lifeguards patrolled its waters in rowboats to reach swimmers in need. Herbert Fleishhacker, a prominent city philanthropist, commissioned this engineering marvel in the early nineteen twenties to provide a destination for athletic competition. The facility drew water directly from the Pacific Ocean, filtering and heating millions of gallons to create a swimming venue that could accommodate ten thousand bathers at once.