In Bullhead City, Arizona, and all along the Colorado River, the swimming pool is more than a luxury. It is an oasis, an escape from the summer heat. And when the sun goes down, the backyard pool becomes the focal point of the home.
But a swimming can be more, much more. If you have the imagination and the money. The famous pianist Liberace built his Sherman Oaks, California with a musical theme in the mid 1950s.
Even the swimming pool mirrored his love music. It was shaped like a grand piano. There was even an 88 “note” tiled keyboard at the end.
Liberace was not the only celebrity to carry his love for music to the backyard. In 1947, crooner Frank Sinatra built a modernist in Palm Springs, California. The Olympic sized pool was the first recorded instance of one being built in the shape of a piano.
In 1987 Motley Crue’s drummer Tommy Lee built a home in Calabasas, California befitting his celebrity status. In addition to a spa and waterfall, the backyard was dominated by a piano-shaped pool. Lee sold the house for $5 million in 2017.
Amarillo, Texas is home to the legendary the Big Texan Steak Ranch & Brewery. This iconic Route 66 steakhouse is known throughout the world for its 72 ounce steakhouse challenge and western ambiance.
The Big Texan Motel was designed to resemble a main street in an old west town. Attention to detail blends modern comforts and conveniences with the ambiance and décor of the late 1800s. From May through September guests beat the heat by taking a refreshing dip in an oversized Texas-shaped swimming pool.
And if you want a thrill with your swim, look no further than southwest London’s Nine Elms district. The Sky Pool is a 82-foot transparent swimming pool that stretches between the 10th floor towers of two residential skyscrapers. This is the largest freestanding acrylic pool structure in the world. It has transformed EcoWorld Ballymore’s Embassy Gardens development with bars and shops into a destination.
It may not provide the thrill of the Sky Pool but at the Elvis Presley Heartbreak Hotel, a stylish boutique hotel situated across the street from his Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee there is a unique pool with a musical connection. The heart shaped swimming pool features a jagged mosaicking pattern on the bottom to epitomize the remains of a broken heart. In 1955, Elvis Presley had a hit with the song Heartbreak Hotel.
The music at the The Badeschiff, meaning “bathing ship”, in Berlin is at night. That is when the Badeschiff turns into a night club a bar and DJs. And sometimes there are table tennis and table football tournaments. In winter there is a sauna.
This unique public swimming pool was created from the hull of an old river barge. The pool is moored in the east harbor section of the River Spree. The river itself is too polluted to allow safe swimming.
The home swimming pool is the ultimate staycation. If you would like to transform your backyard into a sparkling oasis, contact the professionals at Baron Services. And if you have a pool, Baron Services is your one stop shop for service and maintenance.
Written by Jim Hinckley of Jim Hinckley’s America