I took swimming lessons there as a child in the late 70s. It was a great facility back in the day. Farewell Old Friend.
The end to swimming at Augusta State University's Walton Way campus could provide much-needed room for expansion.
A costly leak forced the closure of the university's natatorium, a nondescript brick building toward the rear of campus, in November. The 40-year-old facility had been used by kinesiology classes, continuing education, open swim sessions for students and a short-lived collegiate swim team.
About 3,000 gallons of water slowly seeped through pinholes in the aluminum shell of the pool nightly, Therese Rosier, the assistant vice president for plant operations, said Monday. A liner was installed in 1997 to cover the holes, but it had a 10-year life expectancy, and liners are no longer allowed in public pools, she said.
The decision was made to close the natatorium rather than invest more than $1 million to bring it up to code and seal the leaks, said Kathy Hamrick, the special coordinator for academic and master planning. Considering the need for classroom space, the pool isn't the highest priority. Gov. Sonny Perdue's request to conserve water was also a factor in the decision.
The facility can't be used for storage because it doesn't have air conditioning.
The lack of air conditioning corroded the steel inside the natatorium, weakening the structure's integrity, Ms. Rosier said.
"If we're going to build a new pool, it would make sense to build it at the athletic complex," she said. At one time, the university's gymnasium was near the pool, but athletic facilities are now on the Wrightsboro Road campus.
ASU has begun the lengthy process of demolishing the natatorium, which will require the governor's signature, Dr. Hamrick said. Once it's torn down, the area will be used for green space. Later, it could be the site of an academic building, possibly an expansion of the nearby science building.
Funding has already been requested for the project, she said. But the priority is a $27.5 million academic facility slated for construction in 2012 on Wrightsboro Road.
Augusta State President William A. Bloodworth Jr. has repeatedly said the Walton Way campus is nearing capacity. Although several facilities on the campus are only a few years old, they replaced World War II-era buildings and didn't add capacity to the campus.
ASU College of Education Dean Richard Harrison, who served as swim coach in the 1970s, called the natatorium the "hub of swimming in the CSRA" in its heyday. The second closest indoor competition-length pool was in Columbia.
"It was the end of an era," Dr. Harrison said of the pool's closing. He recalled swim lessons he gave there and athletes he trained to compete nationally.
"I don't know how many people I taught to swim out of that pool," he said.
Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.
ASU NATATORIUM
- Designed by Dort Payne Architects in 1965
- Opened in 1967; closed in November
- 19,820-square-foot building, including locker rooms, offices, restrooms and a spectator viewing area
- 165,000-gallon capacity aluminum-shelled pool
Source: Therese Rosier, Augusta State University assistant vice president for plant operations
Comments
I took swimming lessons there as a child in the late 70s. It was a great facility back in the day. Farewell Old Friend.
WOW - I grew up in a house that backed up to the pool - many memories, TIME DOES MARCH ON!
i live in a house that backs up to the pool........... my basement fills with water. now i know why.
I had to swim two lengths of that pool to prove that I could swim and exempt out of the mandatory swimming class at ASU. I wonder what they'll do for that class now?
I never understood the mandatory swim classes at ASU/. Justify the pool?
Swimming is no longer mandatory at ASU.
Me neither. that class sucked for students that had self image issues..
ASU would have alot more room for expansion if when they build the newer buildings they built them with an eye towards learning instead of socializing. I went there for classes and could not believe the wasted space in the newer buildings. Horrendous planning.
I will miss the pool I was on the swim team when they dropped it in the 80's.
I entertained the patrons of a water ballet in that "new " facility back in 1973 or 74. The tune was the Deliverance theme, "Dueling Banjos." I played banjo. There was no guitar to duel with, but it was a blast! If one has ever played an acoustic instrument in a ceramic tile bathroom, then multiply that sound 1K times. Luckily, the dancers were not performing to my echo-rific plinking...
Shakey Shears
Can't they make an agreement to use the pool over on Domascus Rd?
Good thinking, imdstuf!!!!
I took drown-proofing classes at that pool as a young child... and also took Fitness swimming to meet the aquatics requirement while I was a student a ASU. That building made me nauseous every time I went there because I had old-seated anxiety about the drown-proofing classes that I couldn't quite shake. But I am now officially not going to drown in a pool and can swim nearly a mile in under 30 minutes... all because of that one building and Coach Harrison and Coach Fite. They shouldn't take away the swimming requirement, the statistics of people who drown for not knowing how to swim as adults is staggering. They should just move it to another pool. The Aquatics center sounds good to me.
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