The Public Natatorium

During the late 1800’s, the City of Milwaukee set out on an ambitious building program that promoted public hygiene. At that point in time, very few private residences had indoor plumbing. So the City of Milwaukee built several natatoriums (from the Latin word “to bathe”) in various locations. These natatoriums were originally built not for swimming but bathing. As more people acquired indoor plumbing, the use gradually changed to swimming. Over the years, thousands of Milwaukee residents learned to swim in the various natatoriums. In their heyday, there was a constant line to enter, and the use was restricted to thirty minutes per person in order to handle the huge number of customers. To help defray the cost of maintenance, each resident was charged 10 cents to enter and an additional 15 cents per towel.

The particular natatorium you are in is the first one built and, therefore, the oldest. It was built in 1882.

The walls are 18 inch thick, cream city brick. The rafters are 24 inch by 12 inch curved oak beams. The pool in front of you contains 140,000 gallons of water which is filtered completely every four hours. This is achieved by two sand filters which each contain three tons of various sands.

The remodeling project took approximately 18 months. The pool enclosure is poly treated pine and tempered safety plate glass. The various painted plexiglass hangings, painted ceiling tiles, and painted mirror tiles are the work of a talented local artist who spent 6 months 15 hours per day, 7 days a week accomplishing this prestigious work of art.

The tables are Alabama marble. The 12 hanging baskets consist of 840 individual pots of blooming flowers. These are replaced approximately every six weeks. There are also 4,000 other green plants throughout the restaurant. The plants require two full-time employees for their care. The 80 x 30 ft. skylight makes the growing possible.

There are approximately 300 parakeets in the pool enclosure. Its 80’ length x 30’ width x 40’ height make it one of the larger free-flying aviaries in the United States. The inside of the pool enclosure is a completely separate environment from the restaurant. The pool acts as a huge radiator keeping the air temperature about 70 degrees.

Dolphins

As man has evolved, he has spent his energies changing his environment. Not so with the dolphin. Over the years, the dolphin has changed and adapted his body to come into harmony with his surroundings. In the ocean, the dolphin has no peer.

Dolphins are mammals. They have the same 98.6° body temperature that man has. The difference is in the amazing control that they have over their bodies.

Dolphins do not live by fish alone. Without a reason for living, dolphins will refuse to live. In captivity, they need action, games and variety.

Being sociable, they cannot stand being alone. Alone, a captive dolphin finds it dull and stops feeding. Ancient Greeks believed “at one time, dolphins were men, and in their conscious souls they retain the memory of it.”

The above symbol, taken from Greek Mythology, denotes eternal life through evolution.