Circa 1960 – Present

Every summer in Aspen as a child included a good bit of swimming.  With few exceptions, back then private homes did not include pools in their back yards so we all needed a public place for swimming.  For the kids of Aspen we relied on public pools or private pools that offered memberships or summer passes.  Over the years, public swimming was made available in a number of different locations.

In the mid to late 1960’s, while not operating as a hotel, swimming was available for a small cost at the Hotel Jerome pool.  This was a great place to meet up with friends and spend the day.  The use of this pool went on for years and finally came to an end when the hotel was purchased and work began to restore it.  At first the pool was turned into a private club requiring membership and later it was closed all together.  Eventually the pool was torn out to make room for a large addition to the hotel that now occupies the back half of the property.

As changes at the Hotel Jerome were taking place, a local business man, Lenny Thomas, was busy building “The Center.”  It was a combination of retail spaces and a public pool located on the land at Galena Street and Durant Avenue, across from the North of Nell Building and what would be later known as, Ruby Park.  “The Center” included a much larger pool with additional amenities like locker rooms, slides and a wading pool.  “The Center” soon became the place for families and individuals alike to spend their warm summer days.  The pool was closed during the winter months.

Lenny Thomas was involved in a number of local business and projects including “The Center” and The Aspen Motor Speedway.  He was one of the earliest residents of Red Mountain, living in the red brick house just above the entrance to Pitkin Green Road.  “The Center” remained in business for years until it was finally sold off and redeveloped in the late 1970’s.

Aspen’s next pool was courtesy of James E. Moore.  James E. Moore owned a large parcel of land on the outskirts of town as you headed up Maroon Creek Road towards the Maroon Bells.  In the 1970’s the school district purchased a portion of the land for the High School and later on, the addition of the Middle School.  James Moore donated land directly across Maroon Creek Road from the High School to be used for the new pool as well as for other athletic purposes like baseball and football.  The pool was also used for swimming and diving lessons, water safety for the summer sailing classes and even SCUBA classes.

The new pool was built by the city on the donated land and is still in use to this day.  Later, additional facilities were added including the new ice arena.  Had it not been for the generosity of the Moore family there is no telling what the locals would have been able to use during the summers when it came to learning how to swim or dive unless they were willing to join the Aspen Club, east of town. 

Unfortunately, during this same period of time, access to the best swimming and “tubing” spots on the Roaring Fork River were being closed off by the property owners along the banks of the river.  Over the years the Moore’s continued to make available more land for public uses, unfortunately the city did not return the favor when they tried to sell off part of their land for development purposes.