August 19, 2025 will mark the centennial of Yuma’s first public swimming pool, the Municipal Swimming Pool, later named the Abe Marcus pool. One hundred years ago the community saw a need for a public pool, particularly since the the dangers of river and canal swimming continued to lead to tragic drowning deaths. The rapid completion of the Municipal Swimming Pool was accomplished thanks to generous donations of money and volunteer labor from Yuma’s residents and organizations. Over the years, as Yuma grew in population and in geographic size, the need for additional public swimming pools led to the opening of the Carver pool in 1949, the Kennedy pool in 1965, and the Valley Aquatic Center in 2009. The City of Yuma created a “Recreation and Parks Commission” in 1947. This was the genesis of the current Parks and Recreation department which manages Yuma’s swimming pools and aquatics programming.

Yuma Valley Country Club swimming pool—September 7, 1924 grand opening

The Yuma Valley Country Club swimming pool opened a year prior to Yuma’s first public pool. Although the Country Club required membership, designated public swim dates were offered when the pool first opened. The public was also invited to the grand opening which included the Bathing Beauty Contest pictured below.

Municipal Swimming Pool—Opened August 19, 1925

[1927 Chamber of Commerce booklet]

Yuma’s first public swimming pool opened on August 19, 1925. As the above caption states, the Yuma Volunteer Fire Department and the Kiwanis Club took the lead in making the Municipal Swimming Pool a reality. Yuma’s city officials had been discussing plans for a swimming pool since 1923, but the project took on added urgency when 14-year-old Peter Robinson, son of a prominent local attorney, drowned while diving into a local canal on June 9, 1925. The City of Yuma decided to forgo its annual Independence Day fireworks celebration that year in order to use the allocated funds on the swimming pool construction. Fundraising dances were held, including the ones advertised below. The Business and Professional Woman’s Club also conducted door-to-door fundraising appeals.

Ads for swimming pool fundraising dances held in June 1925.
The grand opening of the Municipal Swimming Pool was held on August 19, 1925. The evening festivities included music from Yuma’s famed Indian Band, as well as aquatic contests such as swimming races, a “fancy diving” competition, and canoe fencing. The public was later invited to swim for free in the new pool which contained water cooled by 120 blocks of ice! It was reported that the 12,000 pounds of ice melted in 17 minutes.
This 1930 announcement illustrates that in the days before air conditioning it was welcome news when Yuma’s public swimming pool opened for the season . . . in April.
Yuma Morning Sun—June 9, 1927

Abe Marcus, legendary swimming instructor

Abe Marcus with one of his many classes of beginning swimmers. Marcus estimated that in his 32 years with the City of Yuma he taught nearly 10,000 Yumans to swim! Is it any wonder that the pool was eventually named in his honor?

In a 1956 newspaper profile Abe Marcus noted, “I like to see people happy. That’s why I have spent so many years of my life working in the field of recreation.” Marcus, who immigrated from Russia as a seventeen-year-old, enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the 35th Infantry Regiment which provided border protection in 1918 during the Mexican Border War. After his discharge Abe tried homesteading in Mohawk Valley where he met his future wife Eloisa Doten. When the Municipal Swimming Pool was being planned in 1925 Abe and Eloisa were living in Yuma with their family which in time grew to include three sons and two daughters. Abe Marcus was named Yuma’s first swimming pool manager. He had already developed a reputation as a powerful swimmer who had rescued several near-drowning victims from local canals. In 1925 Abe also became founding scoutmaster of Yuma’s first Boy Scout troop, a role which allowed him to teach Boy Scout lifesaving skills to countless Yuma boys.

On May 10, 1958 Abe Marcus died at age 64 in a tragic accident in Prescott, Arizona where he had been a patient at Whipple Veterans Hospital.

The death of Yuma’s beloved swimming instructor generated an outpouring of tributes to his life and legacy.

In May 1982 the Marcus Swimming Pool was re-dedicated after being rebuilt into a modern facility. Pictured in the photo are 85-year-old Eloisa Marcus with her 3 sons and a city employee. Eloisa died in 2000 at the age of 103.

Yuma Army Airfield swimming pool—1943 fundraising drive

The Yuma Army Airfield was the training site for many World War II pilots. The community felt that the YAAF soldiers deserved a pool of their own, and since government funds couldn’t be used on such a project during wartime, a gala fundraiser was held at Yuma High School’s Doan Field. Hollywood stars including Harpo Marx, Linda Darnell, and Gracie McDonald entertained a crowd of 2500 while raising around $6000 for the swimming pool fund.

Carver Swimming Pool—Opened July 4, 1949

Yuma Daily Sun—June 28, 1949
Yuma Daily Sun—June 30, 1949

The Carver Swimming Pool at 1250 W. 5th Street opened on Monday July 4, 1949. A public open house was held the previous afternoon. It doesn’t appear that the pool’s original name, the “Carver Plunge,” ever caught on. The pool and surrounding park were located near the Carver Elementary School which opened in the fall of 1947.

An era of segregation

A September 30, 1948 newspaper editorial acknowledged the racial segregation that made the proposed Carver swimming pool a necessity:

An April 27, 1954 article cited a resolution from the regional NAACP charging that Yuma officials were practicing segregation at local public swimming pools:

Kennedy Swimming Pool—Opened May 1, 1965

The construction of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Swimming Pool at 890 E. 24th Street began with groundbreaking on March 22, 1964. The naming of the pool reflects the assassination of President Kennedy just four months earlier.

The Kennedy Pool opened on May 1, 1965. A formal dedication ceremony followed on June 27 with a swimming exhibition from the “Sidewinders,” a Parks and Recreation swim team composed of local youngsters. A special diving performance was provided by Patsy Willard who had recently earned a bronze medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Yuma Daily Sun—May 2, 1965

When the San Diego Padres chose Yuma as the spring training home for their inaugural 1969 season, Desert Sun Stadium had not yet been constructed. With much community support, the team set up a makeshift camp at Keegan Field near the Kennedy Swimming Pool. The players dressed and showered in the Kennedy locker rooms which is also where the coaches and team trainer, John “Doc” Mattei, established their “offices.”

The City of Yuma website currently states that Kennedy Pool is “Closed until further notice due to mechanical challenges.” The pool was closed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and has yet to reopen.

Valley Aquatic Center—Opened July 2, 2009

The Valley Aquatic Center at 4381 W. 18th Street near Cibola High School was a joint endeavor of the Yuma Parks and Recreation Department and the Yuma Union High School District. Yuma’s high schools and youth swim clubs have produced several elite swimmers over the years. These young athletes have benefitted by having access to local aquatic facilities built to competition specifications.

One hundred years ago Yuma’s first public swimming pool opened to great fanfare. Much has changed over that century, but the ongoing need for safe, sanitary (and fun) swimming facilities continues to be met by the Yuma community and its recreation programs.