Even during the Soviet occupation, Kyiv continued to build and develop public spaces and places for recreation. Outdoor swimming pools appeared in the capital in the 1950s and 1960s.
"Apostrophe, referring to the article "Spraga: it is interesting in Kyiv", will show photos of the outdoor pools of that time.
The photo captures a swimming pool on Shevchenko Blvd. near the building that housed the Kyiv Civil Engineering Institute. Now this former part of the institute belongs to Peremohy Avenue, and the building is occupied by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. The photo dates back to 1959 and was taken from the funds of the Museum of the History of Kyiv. It shows children gathered to cool off in the pool on a hot summer day.
Another photo of an outdoor children's pool in the courtyard of the residential building No. 47 on Umanska Street (Pervomaiskyi district, later Solomianskyi).
The photo by Mykola Kozlovsky dates back to the 1960s. Here you can better see the architecture of the pool. Their location and design reflected the architectural trends and aesthetic preferences of the time.
A few more shots from the early 1960s. This is the same outdoor children's pool in the courtyard of the residential building No. 47 on Umanska Street (Pershotravnevyi district, later Solomianskyi). However, here you can also see what the pool looked like without water. After all, Kyiv's outdoor pools, like any other similar facilities, needed regular and thorough service to ensure the safety, hygiene, and comfort of visitors.
Outdoor swimming pools are in direct contact with the environment, which contributes to the entry of various types of pollution into the water: dust, leaves, branches, insects and other foreign objects.
On January 23, 2024, not far from the once-popular children's pool, a Russian missile strike destroyed a basketball club where hundreds of children from all over Ukraine trained every day. However, Apostrophe is confident that Ukraine and Kyiv will do everything possible to restore these sports facilities and we will be able to see happy children in the photos again.