The Morehead State Natatorium in Morehead, Kentucky, was a historic swimming facility built in 1933, closed in 1988, and demolished in 2007.
The Morehead State Natatorium in Morehead, Kentucky, was a historic campus swimming facility built in 1933, closed in 1988, and demolished in 2007 after failed efforts to reuse it.
History
The Morehead State Natatorium was located at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky. Closed to the public in 1988, the historic pool had once been described as the “epitome of swimming pools” before it was demolished in 2007.
Plans for the indoor swimming facility began in April 1932, when Morehead State president John Howard Payne, with the support of the Board of Regents, commissioned the architectural firm Joseph and Joseph to prepare designs for the project. 1 3 The board approved construction in part because labor was inexpensive during the Depression era. Power equipment was not used; instead, the site was built largely through manual labor and the use of mules.
The natatorium was completed on June 22, 1933, and named for Judge Earl W. Sneff, a member of the Board of Regents. 1 3 Carved in stone above the front of the building, facing the Adron Doran University Center, was the inscription: “This swimming pool is dedicated to the ideal of a clean and vigorous youth,” a phrase penned by college English professor Emmitt Bradley.
The facility served both the university and the broader community. It was used by students, the Daughters of Poseidon, and the Aquamen. During World War II, Navy Bluejackets trained there to develop swimming skills considered important to the war effort. 1 According to Jack Ellis, a retired university library director, the sailors’ practice of swimming nude also attracted numerous “peeping toms.”
In 1988, major plumbing lines beneath the pool were damaged during a prolonged winter freeze. 1 At one point, the building was considered for renovation as part of a proposed science center, planetarium, and multimedia theater project. Estimated at $4 million, the plan would have created a hands-on museum and programming space open to public schools, community groups, and other visitors. 2
Demolition
On September 20, 2007, the Board of Regents voted unanimously to demolish the building, stating that no practical adaptive reuse could be found. 1 Preservation architects had twice examined possible alternatives, but the natatorium’s specialized design made conversion to another use prohibitively expensive.
Demolition began in late December 2007. 3 As part of the process, the stone inscription above the main entrance was preserved and later placed on the new student recreation center. 1 The former natatorium site was then used in connection with improvements to the adjacent Button Auditorium, including the addition of modern restrooms and backstage facilities.
Sources
- “Old pool has dark ending.” Trail Blazer (Morehead) 5 Oct. 2007.
- “Proposed Projects Involving the State General Fund (cash or bonds).” Morehead State University 2006, p. 3.
- Overholser, Vanessa. “Senff building demolished.” Morehead News 2 Jan. 2008.
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