These gorgeous high dives are a relic of our aquatic past. Pools may be on the outs as splash pads become the cooling urban infrastructure of choice. But high dives?once a striking architectural centerpiece of all pools?are an especially endangered species.
Diving platforms were ubiquitous in the pools of yesteryear. Now, due to our overly litigious society, they only really appear where future Olympians train, and even then, they?re often barred from public access. On these final days of summer, let?s reminisce about a time when a pool was not complete without a glorious sculptural element beckoning aquatic thrill-seekers.
Fleishhacker Pool | San Francisco

San Francisco Public Library
The pool was so big, lifeguards used rowboats to patrol the waters
When Fleishhacker Pool opened in 1925 near San Francisco?s Ocean Beach, it was a sparkling recreational jewel for the city. Not only was it the largest pool in the country, the water was heated, and featured this Victorian diving platform. After a storm destroyed the pipes which pumped in salt water from the ocean, the pool closed in 1971, and was used to store dirt and gravel until it was paved over in 2002 to make the San Francisco Zoo?s parking lot.
Hearst Castle Roman Pool | Cambria, California

D.H. Parks
Do you think William Randolph Hearst ever took the plunge"

The colonnaded Neptune Pool might be the more famous of the pools at Hearst Castle, but the ind...