The Merced Swimming Tank Association has a long history in the greater Merced area. The 28th Street Pool was built in the early 1920's by the Merced Irrigation District as a safe and fun experience for their employees and their families to cool off in the intense summer heat of the San Joaquin Valley. (Some things never change!) This included a footbridge to cross Bear Creek from the housing provided by the Merced Irrigation District to their employees and their families. This housing was located near the water tower across Bear Creek from the 28th Street Pool. There was no bridge located at M Street at the time the pool was constructed. If you needed to cross Bear Creek, you would have to use the wooden bridges on to G or R streets.
The pool is made from rebar and concrete. You can still see the marks left by the planking when the concrete was poured. Shortly after World War II, the Merced Irrigation District Employees Pool became a privately owned association that members of the community could enjoy relief from Merced’s searing summer heat. In these early years, the 28th Street Pool was a Who’s Who of Merced society as it was not practical to construct a pool in your back yard and pay the yearly cost of maintenance (Our members agree with the logic of sharing the cost of maintaining our pool today!) The pool was drained and refilled with cool (some old timers say cold) water on a daily basis as the members wanted to swim in water that was chemical free. This daily ritual continued into the late 1960's or early 1970's when the water was changed twice weekly in order to conserve water. A closed filtration system was installed in the early 1990’s in order to ensure clean water for our members use.
All of our members come from different walks of life, but one of our commonalities, is the love of the 28th Street Pool, swimming, and cooling off on those really hot, scorching hot, summer days.
We are a non-profit organization that strives to provide a safe secure swimming experience for all our members. Our members work diligently to maintain and improve the facilities in order to provide a safe, fun, relaxing place for our families to enjoy over the long, hot, summer. One dip into our pool and you'll see why we love it so much. We have a strong, involved membership and a dedicated Board that oversees the day-to-day pool operations.