Then & Now: City swimming pools

While the first residents of Sioux Falls used the Big Sioux River for swimming, the city began establishing pools in the early 1900s.

People cooled off in the wading pool at McKennan Park and swam in a dammed-up section of the river at Sherman Park that was the city’s first swimming facility. Drake Springs Pool opened in 1938, followed by Terrace Park Pool after World War II.

There’s still a wading pool at McKennan and newer family aquatic centers at Drake Springs and Terrace Park, along with three other swimming pools, a spray park at Pioneer Park and an indoor pool at Spellerberg Park, which opened in 2016. It’s an Olympic-sized pool that’s available for open swim times and hosts swimming meets.

All historical photos are courtesy of Siouxland Heritage Museums. The present-day ones are from the Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation Department.

This postcard from the early 1900s shows the wading pool at McKennan Park.

This view of the wading pool at McKennan Park, circa 1900, looks east from Second Avenue.

McKennan Park wading pool, circa 1908.

This postcard of the McKennan Park wading pool was based on a photograph taken in about 1917.

This photograph of the McKennan Park wading pool from July 20, 1942, includes the park house in the background.

Nowadays, the wading pool at McKennan Park is a popular spot for toddlers and other young children. It opened in 1971 and has been improved over the years.

This postcard of the Sherman Park swimming pool was dated Feb. 4, 1913. According to “Sioux Falls, South Dakota: A Pictorial History,” the Sherman Park Swimming Area was the city’s first improved swimming facility. The river was dammed and lined with retaining walls in 1912-13. A bath house was built in 1917. No pool exists there now.

There’s no location listed for this photograph from the museum’s collection, but it shows an unidentified woman, Minnie Moe Morgan and Julia Moe Phillips, according to the donor. It was taken sometime from 1914 to 1918.

These photographs were taken at Drake Springs Pool, which was built in the 1930s, and are part of a photo album that was donated to the museum by Robin Burns Rieper. According to the museum’s notes, the photo at left is of Robin at a diving competition in July 1938. The caption for the center photo, taken in August 1938, reads: “Two little mermaids. Last day of swimming.” The museum’s notes say the girls are Julia and Robin. They’re also in the photo at right, floating in the deep end of the pool on the last day of swimming for the season.

This postcard, circa 1950, shows Drake Springs Pool and was based on a photograph from the 1930s. 

Postcard of Drake Springs Pool.

Drake Springs Pool in 1940.

An aerial photograph, circa 1950, shows Drake Springs Pool. The Drake Springs Sunken Gardens are to the upper right of the pool. According to “Sioux Falls, South Dakota: A Pictorial History,” they were removed when the swimming pool was remodeled in the 1960s. The pool is located across the street now.

Now, the Drake Springs Family Aquatic Center, which opened in 2009, features a zero-depth pool with a slide, driving boards, a tube slide and a lazy river with inner tubes.

Swimmers enjoy the diving boards at Terrace Park Pool, circa 1971. The original swimming pool at the park was built in 1944 by the city and soldiers stationed at the Army Air Base.

Pools at Terrace Park with the bathhouse, circa 1971.

Now, the Terrace Park Family Aquatics Center, which opened in 1993, features drop slides, a body and tube slide and a zero-depth entry area with several slides and play features for young children.