Texas-Size Recognition For Pool Shaped Like The Lone Star State
PLANO (CBSDFW.COM) - Noted for its historical significance, the first swimming pool shaped like Texas was recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The Texas Historical Commission (THC) assisted in the nomination of The Texas Pool in Plano.
The 1961 Texas Pool at 901 Springbrook Drive in Plano is a private neighborhood swimming pool shaped like the State of Texas. The 168,000-gallon-capacity concrete pool ranges in depth from one to ten feet and retains a high degree of integrity.
It was built as part of the Dallas North Estates residential neighborhood envisioned by Herbert Hunt and the William Herbert Hunt Trust and developed by Harry Stoner of Summit Development. The upscale neighborhood originally consisted of 3-to-5-bedroom homes and was advertised as a new community development for "comfortable family living" with a "Texas size and Texas-shaped swimming pool for residents."
The pool opened on May 29, 1961, and in 1962, was sold by the Hunt Family Trust to the nonprofit Dallas North Community Club for $1.00, with a stipulation requiring the pool to remain open as a recreational facility. The Texas Pool is the earliest known example of a swimming pool shaped like the state of Texas and represents the adoption of the state shape as a highly-recognized icon in the mid-20th century that continues to be applied to everyday objects in a growing list of categories. The pool was listed in the area of Entertainment and Recreation at the state level of significance as an important and distinctively Texan structure built to serve a new residential neighborhood in a burgeoning suburb of Dallas. Its construction also marked a new phase in the trend of applying the Texas shape to an ever-increasing variety of objects.
The National Register of Historic Places is the nation's official list of cultural resources deemed worthy of preservation. Authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register is part of a federal program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect the country's historic and archeological resources.
The National Register includes more than 3,300 listings in Texas. Listing affords properties a measure of protection from the possible impact of federally funded projects, as well as access to technical expertise and grant funds to facilitate their restoration and preservation. Income-producing properties are also eligible for federal tax benefits for sympathetic rehabilitation work.
