When I heard that the White House Press Room is on top of an old indoor pool, I was intrigued, and had to find out what this is all about.
So, this was the White House Ghost pool, no longer used. Once, the Washington Post called it “One of the dingiest dumps in Washington.”
Pres. Kennedy used it everyday. He loved it so much, that his father had artist Bernard Lamotte paint a mural depicting Christiansted Harbor in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, as a gift.
But, Pres. Nixon nixed the pool to make a space for the burgeoning press. This is a photo of reporters autographing the pool wall.
Construction over the pool began, and Pres. Nixon specified that the pool would be preserved b/c it was lovingly built for President FDR who needed it for therapeutic reasons.
Here, a technician is checking the servers and wires that are now inside the pool.
There’s a trap door under podium.
Back in 1974, on his third day in office, President Ford hatched a top secret plan to take back the press room. It had nothing to do with any animosity towards the press, though. He just wanted to swim.
Ford left the press room where it is, settling for a modest $61,417 outdoor pool constructed with private donations on the South Lawn just outside the West Wing. With an army of press and photographers watching, Ford swam laps in the new pool on July 1, 1975.
Going down to the pool, today. The press signatures are still on the wall, and you can see all the wiring from the servers.
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/politics/news/a9263/history-white-house-press-room-pool/
