Does the White House have a pool?

THE ANSWER IS YES…

There are two pools, even though you will only be able to see the outdoor one

because the indoor pool is now covered over and JAMES BRADY Press Room sits

on top of it.

Here’s some history for you…

The White House has had two different pools since the 1930s.

The indoor swimming pool opened on June 2, 1933, after a campaign

led by the New York Daily News

to raise money for building a pool for President Franklin D. Roosevelt,

who suffered from poliomyelitis and often swam at therapy pools

at his Hyde Park home in New York

or at a rehabilitation center in Warm Springs, Georgia.

The rectangular pool, encircled by arched ceilings and high rows

of half-mooned windows, was built inside the west terrace

between the White House

and the West Wing.

President Richard M. Nixon arranged for the construction

of a press briefing room above the old pool to accommodate

the growing demand for television news.

Since April 1970 the White House press corps has assembled in a small theater

to listen to the White House press secretary’s briefings and reports.

The doors opening to the Rose Garden allow the members

of the media quick access to outdoor events.

FDR’s swimming pool was completed in 1933.

The pool has been covered but remains beneath the floor of the press center.

President Gerald R. Ford, an avid swimmer, installed an outdoor pool

on the White House grounds in 1975.

The Press Briefing Room was renamed the “James S Brady Press Briefing Room” in 2000 in honor of James Brady, the White House press secretary who was shot and permanently disabled following an assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981. In 2000, the room was rewired with 18 miles of cable. When workers opened the trap door leading to the pool to redirect the new cabling, they found the pool to be structurally intact. The deep end is located underneath the press secretary’s podium, and the shallow end is underneath the camera crews.

Now you know the history of the WHITE HOUSE pools.

I was fascinated to read and learn about the existence of the indoor pool

being below the JAMES BRADY press room. Maybe, the press should be aware

that they might get dropped into a pool of water below if they don’t behave and treat

the President with respect.

By Barbara KisKis

April 18, 2020