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After we included a postcard of the Bethlehem bathing beauty cutouts that adorn the bathhouse at the Bethlehem pool, the Littleton Courier ran a story about these artistic creations (February 14, 2024) which reached Edward Ott’s daughter, Susan, in Bellows Falls, Vermont. She was delighted to learn that her father’s work was being celebrated, and shared additional info and photos.

Edward B. Ott (1911-1997) was an artist, sign painter, and glass blower. Originally from Middletown, Connecticut, he and his family began summering in Bethlehem because one of his daughters had severe asthma and they hoped the clean air would alleviate her symptoms. They stayed at an 1880s inn on Cherry Valley Road. The family eventually bought that inn, (see photo below, left, now a private home), and later acquired the building across the street (photo below, right) which they used as an additional guest house called the Annex.

We ask for your support as we conclude our fiscal year at the end of June, and wish you happy swimming and outdoor recreation in the summer of 2024. We shared an image of the Bethlehem pool on our fund-raising postcard last fall, and here is its history. Bethlehem’s first town pool was called Sunset Lake, built in 1929 and fed by water from Barrett Brook running off Mount Agassiz. It was used until the dam gave way during the hurricane of 1938. The following year, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped Bethlehem build a new 60’ x 100’ pool “equipped with the most modern methods of sanitation.” (pictured right.) The “bathing beauties”, two plywood cutouts, were installed on the bathhouse roof in the early 1960s.

This got us thinking about other historic pools in New Hampshire, including the Durham pool (pictured left), which was also a WPA project, one of about 850 such pools across the country. In 1924 students began digging a pond in a somewhat boggy area behind New Hampshire Hall. Subsequent health concerns forced the pond to be shut down and drained in 1936. Then UNH tapped into WPA resources to build a “modern sanitary swimming pool with granite block tiling which will be filled with chlorine treated water to be completely recirculated every 24 hours.” That pool, beloved by generations of townspeople, made our 2013 Seven to Save list after the College announced plans to replace it. After a strong but unsuccessful grassroots campaign to save the old pool, it was replaced with a new three-part modern pool which, like the old one, has lanes for lap swimming, a place for free swimming, and a shallow area for toddlers.

The Vilas Pool Park in Alstead (pictured below right), a gift to the town from native Charles Nathaniel Vilas, was constructed between 1925 and 1926. The pool was formed by a dam that slows the flowing Cold River. Swan boat rides mimicked those in Boston’s public garden. While the boats are gone, this historic pool is still in operation and largely unchanged. Other original features include a pedestrian bridge, pavilion, boat house, and a 12-bell carillon that was built in 1930. At that time, it was the second largest in New England. Vilas Pool Park was recently added to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places.

Do you know of a historic public swimming pool that we should include on our list? Let us know at projects@nhpreservation.org.