Swimming Pool at the White House

The Answer:

The first swimming pool built at the White House was completed in 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt, who suffered from polio, built the pool in the West Wing so he could use it to help strengthen his upper body.

The New York Daily News newspaper helped him raise money from American citizens to pay for construction of the pool.

In 1969, President Richard Nixon had the pool filled in to turn it into an area for the press to gather.

In 1975, an outdoor pool was built during the presidency of Gerald Ford.

-The Editors