Splash Across Texas! The Definitive Guide to Swimming in Central Texas - Softcover

Beal, Chandra Moira

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0967160405 ISBN 13: 9780967160405

Publisher: LA Luna Pub, 1999

Synopsis

A 392-page guidebook to swimming in Central Texas, includes hundreds of historical and contemporary photographs and historical anecdotes.

About this title

About the Author

Chandra Moira Beal is a freelance writer who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published numerous articles in national publications. This is her first book. When she is not writing or swimming, Chandra stays busy with many hobbies and volunteering, promoting animal welfare and rescuing rabbits. She enjoys spending time with her best friend, Maia, and her partner, Stan. She explores the splendid aquatic resources of Central Texas every chance she gets.

From the Back Cover

Did you know that there are over 150 places to swim in Central Texas? Whether you prefer the heated comfort of the manmade pool or the old-fashioned swimming hole, this book covers it all. Detailed and informative chapters help you easily locate pools, hours and fees, plus hundreds of other useful tips. This book goes beyond the usual facts and figures of a guidebook and teaches history lessons while exploring our aquatic resources. Read fascinating anecdotes about historical characters such as Sam Houston, Robert E. Lee, Santa Fe, Coronado and the El Camino real, Bonnie and Clyde, and outlaw Sam bass. Visit historical sites along the Chisholm Trail while staying cool. Learn about the dramatic flooding of the Colorado River and the construction of the Highland Lakes. With hundreds of historical and contemporary photographs, this book is an excellent resource for all ages. Includes: Municipal Swimming Pools

The Highland Lakes

Army Corps of Engineers Lakes

Water Theme Parks

University Facilities

Rivers, Springs and Swimming Holes

Health Clubs

Directories of Swimming Instructors, Camps and Aquatic Events

And much, much more!

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Reed Pool: This tucked-away neighborhood pool is named for Roberta Reed, an Austin citizen, and her daughters. It is located deep in the old Enfield neighborhood on the shores of Lake Austin. Set back from the street, you'll have a nice stroll through the grassy park past Taylor's Lime Kiln as you approach the pool.

The pool, built in 1954, has an irregularly-shaped main swimming area and a separate wading pool. There is one designated lap lane. There is no bathhouse but an outdoor shower and rest rooms are provided. Shade can be found under some oak trees which hang over the fence, and willow and elm trees surround the park. Reed Pool is a quiet, neighborhood swimming spot, but very popular with local residents. It is completely wheelchair-accessible. Reed Pool also has a swim team.

The six-acre park has a playground, picnic tables and grills, and large grassy areas. Lake Austin is a very short walk down a trail in the back of the park. There is parking on Pecos Street, and in a small lot next to the pool. Soda machines provide concessions.

A vestige from Austin's history, Taylor's Lime Kiln still stands in Reed Park. The lime manufactured in this kiln was used in the building of the original Austin capitol building. Peter Calder Taylor (1829-1895) moved to San Antonio from the Orkney Islands in Scotland in 1851 with fifty cents in his pocket. He built a kiln in San Antonio in 1860, then when the railroad came to town in 1871 he moved to Austin. Construction projects were sprouting up everywhere, and land in Austin was selling for fifty cents an acre! The construction of Taylor's kiln cost $5,000. This original kiln was built in 1871. Taylor later built a second kiln about one mile south of Reed Park. Taylor was so successful because he devised a way of keeping the fire inside the kiln going while the lime burned continuously. This allowed more control over the process. The quarry where he extracted limestone is now submerged under Lake Austin at Taylor's Slough. However, the wagon trail he used to haul materials back to the workshop still exists between Reed Park and the submerged quarry. The wooden braces on the present day kiln have deteriorated, and some modern repairs have been made. Taylor patented his braces because they contained the walls while expanding with heat. The original firebox entrance has been closed with cement since children began playing inside. It originally had a burning well thirty feet deep and ten feet in diameter. At its peak, the kiln produced up to one hundred barrels of lime per day that was sold as far south as Galveston. Horse stables, carpenter and blacksmith shops, and wheelwright and paint shops surrounded the original kiln. If you look hard at the present-day Reed Park, you can easily imagine what a bustling scene it was. Taylor's Lime Kiln was designated a historical landmark in 1974, affirming Taylor's integral role in the development of Austin's economy and architecture.

Edition details

• Publisher: LA Luna Pub
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0967160405
• ISBN 13: 9780967160405
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 392