The Forgotten History Of The Swimmobile

As reported by the Democrat & Chronicle, the swimmobile had filtration and chlorination systems, was about three to four feet deep, and could accommodate about twelve kids at a time, or up to 150 in a day. The swimmobile continued making its annual rounds until the early 1980s, at which point it was moved to a playground and remained there for another five years. 

Other cities had their own swimmobiles, including New York City and Detroit. The New York Times wrote about the city's many swimming pool options in 1976, noting that in addition to the traditional, stationary pools found in parks, YMCAs, hotels, apartment buildings, and schools, the Department of Parks and Recreation owned five mobile pools. Recreation workers towed the 15-by-40 feet pools to different destinations each day from July 12 through September 2 between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Per Director of Recreation Jerry Demers, "We take the pools to parks or streets that have hydrants and make the arrangements through local community organizations." 

According to the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, the city also had its share of temporary porta-pools, meant to provide pool access to underserved neighborhoods in all five boroughs. In 1972, there were 74 mini-pools around New York City; as more traditional pools were built, they were phased out but 17 remain in use today. Perhaps the person who wrote this scene from "The Simpsons," available on YouTube, in which Springfield briefly got its own pool-mobile enjoyed some mobile swimming during the golden age of the swimmobile.

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