- City:
- Oskaloosa, IA
- Site Type:
- Parks and Recreation, Swimming Pools
- New Deal Agency:
- Works Progress Administration (WPA)
- Started:
- 1937
- Completed:
- 1937
- Quality of Information:
- Very Good
- Marked:
- Unknown
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
The Edmondson Park Swimming Pool and Bathhouse in Oskaloos IA was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1937. It was one of over a dozen public swimming pools constructed in Iowa during the New Deal.
The Oskaloosa pool measures 75 x 150 feet and was of “particular pride” to the WPA officials and engineers who designed it.
Oskaloosa’s bathhouse was regarded as one of the most beautiful in the state upon its completion. Built out of limestone quarried in Mahaska County IA the 53 x 75 foot structure is set upon a scenic spot in the municipal park.
In 2005, the bathhouse interior and the exterior pool area were reconstructed into a modern aquatic complex. With periodic renovations to the facility undertaken over the years, the pool is still in operation today.
Source notes
“Sixteen Ultra-Modern Pools for Iowa,” Parks & Recreation. May 1938.
City of Oskaloosa, “Edmundson Pool” https://www.oskaloosaiowa.org/99/Edmundson-Pool
Gray Brechin, Just Scratching the Surface, https://livingnewdeal.org/just-scratching-the-surface/
Site originally submitted by Gray Brechin on March 2, 2022.
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