Many consider the Great Bath of Mohenjo-daro (in present-day Pakistan), which dates to the 3rd millennium BCE, to be the first swimming pool. Archaeologists believe that it was used for ritual bathing and open only to royalty, priests, and others of high rank. The ancient Greeks and Romans were also known for building elaborate pools (including heated swimming pools).
In more modern times, the first indoor public swimming pools were built in the United Kingdom in the 1830s. In the early 1900s, swimming pools began to be built in the United States as an alternate to swimming holes in ponds and rivers. One of the first modern aboveground swimming pools was built at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia in 1907. The Club, which still exists today, says that it was the first pool in the country to be constructed above the ground floor. Kits for the construction of above ground pools become available after World War II, and residential pools became very popular in the following decades. In the 1950s, a growing number of hotels began to install pools to attract guests. Since then, technological innovations have allowed pool designers and builders to create more complex and visually appealing pools. It’s estimated that there are more than 10.4 million residential pools and approximately 310,000 public swimming pools in the United States.
The COVID pandemic prompted many people to spend more time at home. As a result, the number of pools that were designed and installed increased. In fact, the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance reports that 96,000 new residential, inground pools were installed in 2020, the highest number in more than a decade.
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