In the late 19th century, food was preserved with blocks of ice sawn from frozen ponds and stored in insulated buildings. As Boulder grew and matured, residents and merchants demanded a more dependable form of cold storage. The Hygienic Ice and Coal Company, located at the northeast corner of Pearl and 21st streets, opened in 1905 and produced blocks of ice for sale. The company also provided storage space within its building for grocers and butchers.
The ice plant ran machinery that required cooling with water. In the process, the water became hot. Even while the ice plant was under construction, its owners envisioned utilizing the hot water in an enclosed swimming pool. Yet, there was little discussion about a pool prior to 1922.
By then, the ice plant had purchased adjoining land fronting on Spruce Street. The construction of a pool and building — now just the Spruce Pool — was underway. Its opening was a win-win for both the ice plant that found a use for its byproduct and the people of Boulder who had a year-round place to swim.
When the 60-by-120-foot pool opened in 1923, a newspaper reporter noted that 180-degree water from the waste line of the ice plant was piped directly into the pool. There, he stated, the hot water “was mixed with [cold] water from the city mains in order to reduce the heat to the point desired.” The pool had a construction cost of $25,000 and was described as “one of the greatest needs of the city.”
Swimmers could bring their own suits, but “fine cotton bathing suits” were available for rent. The reporter added that “the suits for women are modest one-piece affairs with skirts that reach nearly to the knees.” Everyone was required to shower before entering the pool. Hours were weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon, with 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. devoted to swimming lessons. The pool then reopened to swimmers from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Lifeguards were in constant attendance.
The pool structure included six skylights and a balcony for spectators. The balcony included a “refreshment room” and even space for dancing. The men’s and women’s locker rooms each had attendants, and the women’s room had electric hair dryers.
The pool wasn’t always open in the winter. For a few years beginning in 1948, a special floor was laid over the pool, turning the facility into a roller-skating rink. The floor was removed in the summer, and the pool reopened to swimmers. By then, it was leased by the City of Boulder and named the Municipal Pool of Boulder.
In 1958, a huge fire of unknown origin burned a section of the ice plant that contained 700 meat lockers. Most of the rest of the building was destroyed. Five firemen were injured and a sixth was hospitalized. At the time, the building was also used for “dry” storage by various entities. Ball Brothers Research lost machinery and equipment in the fire, while the Boulder Historical Society lost musical instruments and other artifacts.
The swimming pool building was not damaged during the ice plant fire. In 1962, Boulder voters passed a bond issue to build another pool in Boulder — the Scott Carpenter pool — and turn the then-called “Spruce Pool” into an outdoor facility. The enclosing building was dismantled the following year. Now, the pool’s future is uncertain.
Still, it’s fun to go back in time and see where residents swam decades ago.
Great pictures—thanks for digging them up and sharing!
One thing I’d push back on is the conclusion that Spruce Pool’s future is “uncertain.” It costs roughly $200,000 a year to operate, and the City Manager’s mere suggestion that it not be funded in 2028 demonstrates, in my view, how disconnected the city has become from REAL equity, inclusion and the idea of 15-minute neighborhoods.
City Council is getting an aggregate raise of roughly $270,000 this year—a ballot measure I seriously doubt would have passed if voters had been asked to choose between those raises and keeping Spruce Pool open.
Similarly, Boulder, a city of roughly 105,000 people, has four senior city managers: a City Manager, Deputy City Manager and two Assistant City Managers, each making well above what it costs annually to operate Spruce Pool once salary and benefits are considered. I have no malice toward any of these people, but if we truly have to make choices, then we should be looking hard at administrative overhead before eliminating neighborhood amenities. Cutting even one of these positions could fund the pool’s operation, and my guess is residents would choose keeping Spruce open for its 15,000+ annual visits over maintaining all four senior administrative positions.
The city has, to some degree, forgotten who it serves. It’s time to rethink our priorities.
But one thing IS certain: there is no way the citizens of Boulder are going to allow the city to shut down Spruce Pool.
The city has said it does not have funding to operate Spruce Pool beyond 2027. The proposed facilities bond would not change that, as Spruce Pool is not among the projects it would fund. For now, the pool’s future remains uncertain.
I understand that of course. What I stated above is that I am certain, that, we, the citizens of Boulder will not let Spruce Pool go unfunded and that it was an error in judgement by the City Manager to include this in the items her administration is contemplating cutting. It will be their undoing.
The building on South side of the pool housed the Yoga Workshop( Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor) which was a magnet for yoga, philosophy , community gatherings from late 1980’s until Covid. Wonderful article. Thanks to Sylvia Pettem! Sure hope Spruce Pool survives.
I remember a ‘Nurse-In’ during the early ‘90’s.
One mom got ticketed for breastfeeding at the pool (indecent exposure) and the next Sunday the place was full of nursing moms.
The three Teegarden boys, Ronnie, Butch, Cary, all used to spend the summer at the hygienic. Her mom would come home for lunch and then take us back into town drop us off on her way back to Esquire magazine. My grandfather used to take my father there when he was a child. My father was born in 1919. I remember the high diving board and the deep end of the pool. It was very courageous to jump off at high dive never did it headfirst always feed first after Scott Carpenter Poole was built my mom would drop us off there in the summertime. We had a great time. My family’s been in Boulder County for 160 years. Things have really changed not necessarily for the better..