The legendary Camp Dodge Swimming Pool in Johnston, Iowa, was once one of the largest outdoor filtered pools in the world. Spanning 150 feet by 350 feet—the exact size of a football field—this monumental aquatics center required nearly 3 million gallons of water to fill. Built in 1922 to serve the Iowa National Guard and the surrounding Des Moines community, it hosted up to 3,000 swimmers at a time before permanently closing its gates in 2001.
Though the massive basin has since been filled with earth, its footprint remains a fascinating piece of Iowa history. Here is the story of the Midwestern oasis that defined summers for generations.
In the early 1900s, Iowa National Guard soldiers training at Camp Dodge frequently used the adjacent Des Moines River to cool off, leading to several tragic drownings in the treacherous currents. Seeking a safe, controlled environment for military water survival training and physical fitness, military leaders commissioned a state-of-the-art swimming facility.
Designed by the Des Moines architectural firm Pearse, Robinson & Sprague, the pool officially opened in the summer of 1922.
- The Scale: At its debut, it was billed as the largest filtered outdoor pool in the United States, eclipsed only a year later by the massive Fleishhacker Pool in San Francisco.
- The Filtration: Its water was processed by two sand-filled filters the size of highway tanker trucks.
- Community Focus: While built on a military base, the Playground Association of Des Moines stepped in by 1923 to manage public access, ensuring local families could utilize the colossal pool all summer long.
In the late 1990s, the aging behemoth began showing its vulnerability. A massive mesocyclone storm struck Camp Dodge in 1998, snapping light poles and blowing electrical wiring directly into the water. While emergency funds repaired the iconic stucco bathing pavilion, escalating structural maintenance, continuous underground water leaks, and high operating costs began catching up to the facility. Following its normal seasonal closure in the fall of 2001, the Camp Dodge Pool never reopened.
After sitting empty for seven years, a creative restoration plan preserved the history of the site without the liability of the water. Engineering teams filled the pool basin with a mixture of sand and soil, transforming the interior into a lush, grassy parade ground and outdoor amphitheater used for military ceremonies and community events.
Although Camp Dodge Pool is no longer there, the memories of the pool will forever live on. I remember my Summer days of being young and heading out to the massive pool to have a blast. We will never see a giant pool like that, around here again.
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