Crystal Pool (Seattle) Explained

Crystal Pool Natatorium was a saltwater indoor swimming pool in Seattle, Washington.^{[1] [2] [3]} It was eventually adapted and became the building of the Bethel Temple Pentecostal Church. It was designed by B. Marcus Priteca^[4] and built from 1915 to 1918. The pool was covered with boards and the venue used for boxing or roller skating.

The building was later demolished in 2003 and replaced with a condominium complex called Crystalla.

Description

The complex was designed for C. D. Stimson by Marcus Priteca.^[5] Upon its debut, the Italian Renaissance architecture facility was described as having outdone the Baths of Rome. The total cost of its construction was approximately $200,000 .^[6]

It had arched steel trusses and a glass roof.^[7] Its facade included terracotta features and it had a dome.^[8] Water was pumped in from the Puget Sound's Elliott Bay. The 260,000 gallon pool was heated.^[9] It was in the Belltown District.

History

In 1918, the pool's adjoining energy plant was converted from burning oil to burning a form of powdered coal.^[10] A contemporaneous article in Electrical World magazine reported that it was to become the first of its kind (a small plant isolated from others) to transition to powdered coal. It received the coal by truck, and was described as not having a "slag pit" for its byproducts.^[11]

In February 1923 the Young Men's Republican Club of King County organized a Lincoln Banquet at the Crystal Pool Auditorium.^[12] In March 23, 1923 the Ku Klux Klan held a rally at the venue. At the time, Seattle was segregated with covenants to restrict where minorities could live and sundown restrictions kept them out of white neighborhoods after working hours.^[13] The Klan event was one of several held around Washington in 1923 and 1924.^{[14] [15]}

In 1924, U. S. Navy swimmers from the battleships and competed at the pool.^[16]

William H. Offler bought the building in 1944 and converted it into Bethel Temple, permanently covering the pool with flooring.^[17] The entrance was on the corner of 2nd Avenue and Lenora Street.

Boxing

Crystal Pool was also used as a venue for boxing matches. Wooden planks and flooring were placed to cover the pool.^[18] Boxer Leslie Earnest "Wildcat" Carter was photographed at the Crystal Pool.^[19] A match between Tony Seeman and Abie Israel was held at Crystal Pool on December 17, 1930. Promoter Nate Druxman organized fights at the venue^[20] where he established an athletic club.^[21] Hal Hoshino fought at the venue.^[22] Ken Overlin and Paul Delaney also fought at the venue.^[23]

Demolition and replacement

The building was razed on June 2003, and replaced with a 24-story condominium complex called Crystalla. Most of the original terracotta façade was preserved and rebuilt in place. A small glass dome calling back to the original one lost during the building's time as Bethel Temple was placed over the current building's corner entrance.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Crystal Pool Natatorium . September 6, 2022 . HistoryLink Tours.
2. News: Larry . Kreisman . December 16, 1999 . Crystal Pool: A Unique Part Of Our Past . .
3. Web site: Ruppenstein . Andrew . October 14, 2020 . Crystal Pool (1915–2004) . September 6, 2022 . Historical Marker Database.
4. Web site: Flom . Eric L. . December 12, 2008 . Priteca, B. Marcus (1889-1971) . August 21, 2022 . . Priteca's work went beyond theaters, even from the beginning of his career. He designed Seattle's Crystal Pool (1914) at 2nd Avenue.
5. Web site: Architectural drawings of the Crystal Pool building, circa 1990s . September 6, 2022 . Archives West.
6. Seattle's New Natatorium . . 1916 . 12 . 5 . 288–289 . Arts & Architecture / University of Michigan Library.
7. Book: Humphrey, Clark . Seattle's Belltown . Arcadia . 2007 . 9780738548166 . 28.
8. Web site: Bethel Temple (Crystal Pool) . September 6, 2022 . Puget Sound Pipeline . Puget Sound Theatre Organ Society.
9. Book: Allison, Ross . Spooked in Seattle: A Haunted Handbook . September 13, 2011 . Clerisy Press . 9781578605019 . 65–66.
10. Macinnis . A. E. . May 18, 1918 . Experience with powdered coal . Electrical World . 71 . 20 . 1032–1034 . HathiTrust Digital Library.
11. August 1, 1918 . Powdered fuel tests . Power plant engineering . 22 . 15 . 627–628 . HathiTrust Digital Library.
12. Book: Washington House of Representatives . House Journal of the Legislature of the State of Washington . Public Printer . 1923 . 59 . Washington House of Representatives.
13. Web site: Sundown towns - Washington State, Racial Restrictive Covenants Project Washington State . Civil Rights & Labor History Consortium . 2024.
14. Web site: March 23, 1923 . Klansmen at event at Crystal Pool, Seattle, March 23, 1923 (MOHAI 15388) . September 8, 2022 . . Seattle.
15. Web site: Griffey . Trevor . KKK Super Rallies in Washington State: 1923-24 . September 8, 2022 . . . UW Departments Web Server.
16. Barrett . J.E. . Pacific Paragraphs . Our Navy . 1924 . . October 1, 1924 . 17 . 11 . 28 . Google books.
17. Web site: Crystal Pool Natatorium, Seattle, circa 1927 . September 8, 2022 . Museum of History & Industry.
18. Web site: Crystal Swimming Pool, Downtown, Seattle, WA (1915-1916) demolished . September 8, 2022 . . University of Washington.
19. News: December 31, 1975 . P-I photos from the 1920s . .
20. News: Eskenazi . David . Rudman . Steve . February 28, 2012 . Wayback Machine: Nate Druxman, Mr. Boxing . Sportspress Northwest .
21. Web site: Nate Druxman Seattle boxing photograph and ephemera collection . September 8, 2022 . Archives West.
22. Book: Lee, Shelley Sang-Hee . Claiming the Oriental Gateway: Prewar Seattle and Japanese America . July 30, 2011 . Temple University Press . 9781439902158 . 160 . Google Books.
23. Book: Walsh, Peter . Men of Steel: The Lives and Times of Boxing's Middleweight Champions . July 30, 1993 . Robson . 9780860518471 . 100 . Google Books.