Oliver Bath House, Pittsburgh’s only indoor public pool, is scheduled to reopen this weekend after a yearslong closure for renovations.
Located in the city’s South Side neighborhood, the two-story structure is more than 100 years old.
“It means a lot to South Side, but it’s not just South Side,” Councilman Bob Charland, D-South Side, said. “It’s the only indoor swimming facility the city offers. It really does serve people far and wide.”
Renovations included locker room upgrades, energy efficiency improvements and new lighting.
“We really brought a very old building into the 21st century,” Charland said.
According to the city’s website, Oliver Bath House will reopen Saturday with an open swim from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
A daily schedule of swim times is available online.
Charland said he anticipates the pool will be open year-round.
Its reopening is a long time coming. The pool closed in 2020. Construction delays repeatedly pushed back an opening date.
City officials in 2023 estimated the renovation project would cost about $8.7 million. Charland was not immediately able to provide a final total.
Oliver Bath House was initially opened as a public bathhouse to serve a neighborhood where many houses were initially built without plumbing. It since was transformed into a popular swimming pool and neighborhood landmark.
The facility’s namesake, Henry W. Oliver, in 1903 gifted the city the land and $80,000 for a bath house, with his only stipulation being that the bathhouse be free to the public, according to Preservation Pittsburgh, which successfully nominated the site for the city’s historic recognition.
Construction began in 1914. When the bathhouse was completed, it was one of several in the area, along with others in the Strip District, Lawrenceville and South Oakland.
The bathhouse sat across the street from Oliver Iron & Steel Company. Oliver was the company’s board chairman.
Preservation Pittsburgh in a letter nominating the site for historic recognition called the building “an exemplary example of Tudor Revival/Collegiate Gothic Design,” noting its original exterior had not been significantly altered.
