The swimming pool at theWhite House, the official residence of thepresident of the United States, is located on theSouth Lawn near theWest Wing.
In 1933, an indoor swimming pool had been built for PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt for his physical therapy forpolio. The pool was covered over in 1970 when the space was remodeled as thePress Briefing Room.[1]
The present-day outdoor pool was commissioned in 1975 byGerald Ford duringhis presidency. Before becoming president, Ford swam twice daily at his home inAlexandria, Virginia; early in the morning and after work in the evening. Ford regretted the White House no longer had a swimming pool and did not find playinggolf as satisfying for exercise as swimming.[2] The chosen location for the pool was theSouth Lawn, with a natural screen of bushes and trees, it is behind the West Wing near the Oval Office.
The New York Times reported that the pool project had "strong opposition from his [Ford's] advisers" as Ford had stressed budgetary restraint upon taking office in 1974. Aides had reportedly warned Ford that the construction of a pool would ensure that he only lasted a year in the presidency and should wait until after his potentially successfulre-election in 1976.[2] The cost of the 20-foot (6.1 m) wide and 50-foot (15 m) long pool was estimated to be $52,417 (equivalent to $306,301 in 2024). In part to allay the cost concerns, it was entirely funded by private contributions, with donations limited to $1,000 (equivalent to $5,844 in 2024). A swimming pool committee oversaw the construction of the pool; it was chaired by the vice chairman of theUnited States Olympic swimming committee, A. J. Sehorn.[2]
Acabana was later added, with showers and changing facilities, and an underground passage connects the cabana to theWest Wing for security. The cabana issolar powered with heated pipes providing hot water with the remaining heat going to the outdoorspa. It was renovated in 2002 with extra windows and a raised roof.[1]
Ford was a regular swimmer and demonstrated his swimming for the press when the pool was completed.[1] The photographer Dick Swanson ofPeople took a picture from the bottom of the pool of Ford swimming.[3] Ford's son, Jack, learned to scuba dive in the pool, and 39th PresidentJimmy Carter's daughterAmy frequently dived in the pool.[1]Barbara Bush often swam in the pool; in 1990, a rat swam past her and was subsequently drowned by her husband, 41st PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush. Barbara Bush said that she "[swam] with a mask, and it just went right by in front of me...Fortunately, George Bush was there and drowned the beast. It was horrible".[4]Hillary Clinton was also a frequent user of the pool. Clinton had considered recreating the indoor pool of the White House and creating a new space for the media. As part of the White House grounds, the pool and its cabana are the responsibility of theNational Park Service.[1]
In the first year of his presidency,Barack Obama wrote that he would leave theOval Office and "have a cigarette (or two)" by the cabana, "savoring a quieter moment and letting my thoughts wander and deepen".[5]
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38°53′49″N77°02′16″W / 38.89705°N 77.03771°W /38.89705; -77.03771