Title	Schifferdecker Swimming Pool
Title-Alternative	Swimming Pools 04
Identifier	JPL10_790_030_a_L
Creator	Unknown
Contributor	Simpson, Leslie, Post Memorial Art Reference Library; Valentine Souvenir Co., New York;
Publisher	Joplin Public Library
Description	In the 1880s, Joplinites who wanted to swim could go to the cold spring-fed creeks or to the "natatorium" or indoor swimming pool, in the Southwest Medical and Surgical Institute on Broadway Street. The pool measured 14 x 35 feet, with depths from 4 to 10 feet. An electro-magnetic battery emitted a "gentle " current of electricity through the water, imparting "a sense of refreshment and vigor to the bathers." So much for an exhilarating swim! In the late 1890s, the first Elks Lodge at 220 W. 4th offered a natatorium and Turkish baths to its members. Opened in 1909, Schifferdecker Pool was the first public swimming pool in Joplin. It featured "The Chutes" a fancifully-designed slide, on one end and a beautiful colonnade on the other. Minarets decorated the top of the large slide as well as other square-columned structures around it. In the background loomed the 125-foot "Tower of Lights." These embellishments lent a magical air to the pool, which was designed as a lagoon, with gently sloping sides leading into the water. Modern day zero-entry pools have nothing over the Schifferdecker "swimmin' hole." One postcard shows an exotic Moorish style concession stand next to the pool; a woman stands near a tree posted with a sign, "Profane Language Strictly Forbidden. " By the 1920s, Schifferdecker Pool had lost some of its luster. Most of the fanciful colonnades, minarets, and other traces of the old Electric Park were demolished in favor of simpler structures. A new pool replaced the original Schifferdecker swimming hole in 1932. Many changes were made to the park throughout the 1930s, thanks to federally funded WPA projects that employed area men during the Depression. One program, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) hired out-of-work young men to do such things as plant trees, stock lakes, and build shelters, trails, and campgrounds. Local CCC workers constructed the decorative stone entrances at Schifferdecker Park during this time. Source: Guide to Dating Curt Teich Postcards: www.lcfpd.org/docs/teich_guide_dating.pdf (accessed 8/18/2003)The History of Jasper County, Missouri. Des Moines, Iowa: Mills & Co., 1883.Joplin. Board of Park Commissioners. Joplin's Municipal Park System.Mead, Wilfred J. Civilian Conservation Corps. National Archives and Records Administration. Records of the Civilian Conservation Corps.www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/new_deal_for_the_arts/work_pays_america.html (accessed 9/16/2003)Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. 1900.
Subject	Schifferdecker Swimming Pool (Joplin, Mo.); Swimming pools--Missouri--Joplin; Parks--Missouri--Joplin;
Language	English
Date-Creation	circa 1910
Date-Current	8/6/2004
Type	Postcards
Collection Name	Joplin Historical Postcards
Source	From the collection of the Joplin Public Library
Coverage	Missouri -- Jasper County -- Joplin; Missouri -- Newton County -- Joplin;
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Contributing Institution	Joplin Public Library (Joplin, Mo)
County	Jasper County (Mo.) Newton County (Mo.)
Copy Request	Contact Joplin Public Library at 417-624-5465, or email jpl@joplinpubliclibrary.org