Aussie champs Murray Rose, Jon Henricks and John Devitt, 1955

Joan Desborough readies herself for a dive, Starlight Park, the Bronx, 1920s. Opened in 1918, Starlight Park had everything Coney had: bathing pavilions, a shooting gallery, a 15,000-seat stadium for the circus and other events, even a roller coaster. “It had a big swimming pool with a sort of observation veranda alongside, a sandy ‘beach’ and lockers by the day or season,” said a letter to the NY Times in 1995. The park even sponsored a little culture for the masses, in the form of opera and big band shows. The stadium was home to the New York Giants soccer team, and a popular venue for amateur boxing and auto races. It closed in 1932.

Photo: Library of Congress via Shorpy

Swimmer accepting a prize, 1941, Sweden.

the higher the hair, the closer to God - Hamidou Banor by Baldovino Barani x FACTORY Fanzine

Beyond the swimming pool and light screen of vegetation, islands of rock arise from the sea like great leviathans.

Celebrity Homes II, 1981

Judge magazine, February 26, 1927

"Mae West and her troupe of musclemen" - Mae West was born 1893 and died 1980. In her last movie "Sextet" from 1977 she played a 28 years old woman.

Lauren Bacall, with her husband, Humphrey Bogart relaxes near their pool. In the late afternoon, after a day's work on Warner Brothers' Key Largo, The Look likes to change into a comfortable, cool and slightly formal patio dress. The one she wears now is a two-piece, ankle-length, rayon shantung with a brown and black Oriental print. The snug bra top buttons in the front and has a large cocealing collar. Blair dress, Joseff jewelry. Photos by John Engstead, 1947

1973 Ontario Provincial Park pass

Canada

1951 Jantzen Sun Clothes

I know, the chlorine taste is a little off putting.

Life - January 17th 1944

A young woman training to perform as a mermaid at Weeki Wachee Springs in Florida. Lessons include breath control, underwater ballet, synchronized swimming, graceful movement, and underwater dining etiquette. Audiences watch the mermaids perform from an underground theater embedded in the side of the spring.

Care and Feeding of a Mermaid, 1961

art by NetleyBoif