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Rainbow Fountain: PLUNGE
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Colonel Charles
R. Drake's Long Beach Bath House, a Romanesque building
complete with a warm salt-water pool, opened in Los Angeles
on July 4th, 1902. The opening day celebration brought huge
crowds, far exceeding expectations.
The Plunge transformed the personal activity of swimming and
bathing into a social activity. According to a historic
Southern California Plunge Bathing Association flier,
members of the association are "pledged to make of these
Bathing Establishments places where everyone - men and women,
old and young, girls and boys - can safely enjoy the greatest
and most wholesome of all athletic pastimes."
The Plunge was a great civic experiment. Its success
immediately established the Plunge as a destination and hub
for the growth of The Pike. |
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