Time Frames: Swimming lessons at Sylvania Park, 1939

School is out, and summer vacation has arrived! What better way to spend summer childhood days than at the park or cooling off from the Texas heat taking swim lessons at the local pool?

Over the years, countless children have mastered basic and advanced swimming techniques from city parks and recreation staff. Reta McElahannon is pictured here at Sylvania Park swimming pool in July 1939, learning the prone glide from instructor Herbert G. Allphin.

The Sylvania Park pool was built in 1936 with a capacity to hold 445,000 gallons.

By the looks of this photograph, it was well utilized in the summer months.

Located on East Belknap Street in the Riverside neighborhood of Fort Worth, the park had an arbor with a platform, formal walkways and landscaping that made it a popular attraction for families.

In 2014, the City Council voted to demolish the Sylvania pool and four others. All had been closed since 2010 because of the cost of maintenance.

The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries offer a rich and diverse collection of materials on the history of Texas and the Southwest.

Each week, readers get a glimpse of the past with an image from Special Collections. 817-272-3393;

library.uta.edu/special-collections.

This story was originally published July 6, 2015 at 10:49 AM with the headline "Time Frames: Swimming lessons at Sylvania Park, 1939."