For the emigrant from the north country the recent winter storm that brought a chill to the Colorado River Valley may have been reminiscent of late spring in Minnesota or Montana. But have no worries, here in nortwestern Arizona this few days of cold weather is what we call winter.
Right around the corner is swimming pool season, which will last for nine months or more. The swimming pool in all its variations has evolved into a gathering place, an oasis on a hot summers eve, not just a special place fit for a king.
As an example, a center peice for celebrations and events at the Elvis Presley Heartbreak Hotel, one of the most stylish boutique hotels in Mephis, features a heart-shaped swimming pool that has a jagged mosaicking pattern on the bottom that appears to be a broken heart. Located near Presley’s beloved Graceland, the motel is a destination for legions of fans that gather poolside to share stories about the king.
In Nashville, Tennessee there is another swimming pool that has a connection to a recording artist legend. It is a guitar-shaped, a replica of the one made famous at the home of cowboy crooner Webb Pierce.
The original pool was built at his Oak Hill,Tennessee home. It became an attraction itself, and Pierce often allowed tourists into the backyard for photographs. It became such an attraction that his neighbours obtained a court order to curtail the glut of tour busses that transformed the neighborhood into a congested parking lot.
The replica pool was built in 1978 opposite the former site of the Country Music Hall of Fame. It was later incoporated into the Spence Manor Motor Hotel complex. Converted into condos, the pool is still an attraction but it can only be viewed through the fence.
And if the simple swimming pool isn’t enough of a beat the heat attraction, consider Nemo 33 in Brussels, Belgium. It was designed by Belgian diving expert John Beernaerts to be used for diving insutruction, for recreation, and for film production. Until 2014, with a depth of 113-feet it held the Guinness World Record as the deepest swimming pool in the world.
It is filled with 660,000 gallons of filtered spring water. And with the use of solar heaters it is kept at 86 degrees making it suitable for use in any season. There are even simulated underwater caves. It made the list of eighteen strangest swimming pools compiled by Popular Mechanics.
You may not be in the market for a guitar or heart shaped swimming pool, or one suitable for diving. But for all of your swimming pool needs, from installation and repair to maintenance and poolside landscapes, Baron Services is your one stop shop.
Written by Jim Hinckley of Jim Hinckley’s America