On April 6th, 1904 it was announced in the Reading Times that William Luden had purchased a property at 134-136 North 5th street with the intention to construct a Natatorium. It would be Reading’s first indoor swimming pool, managed by the Fifth Street Swimming Club, which was formed for the endeavor with Luden as President. Apparently Luden was a real enthusiast of swimming and other water sports. At this time the vast majority of people did not know how to swim. The only place to do so were rivers and lakes, and often ended in drowning deaths. Luden wanted his pool to be an introduction for the public with water safety and swimming experience. It was opened officially the following November, in which Luden dedicated it “to the health and happiness of mankind“.

The original building was 145 feet long by 48 feet wide, and the ceiling had a large skylight and ventilator. The pool itself is 30 by 100 feet, built of concrete and lined in white enamel tile, with a gently sloping depth between three and eight feet. The water was filtered and “heated” to 72 degrees. Three showers were available for bathers, as well as numerous changing rooms lining the balcony around the pool. It boasted itself as the “largest indoor pool in the east“. The building was illuminated by electricity; it was truly state-of-the-art.

Both swimming lessons and leisure swimming were available to the public after its opening, however, the scheduling was regimented by gender. Mondays between 1:30-6pm and Saturdays between 9:30am-1:00pm were “Family Day”, in which mothers could bring their children and husbands, but men without an accompanying woman were not permitted entry. Mondays between 6-8:30pm were “ladies only” swimming, and 8-10:30pm was “club night” for members. The rest of the week swimming was for men and boys only.

A June 5th, 1905 Reading Times article reported that “a cavern of immense proportions, the full extent of which is unknown, was developed under Madison Avenue in the rear of the Natatorium.” A hole about three feet wide showed up in the middle of the road, six feet from the curb behind the natatorium building. Assistant City Engineer Davis tied a rope to himself and descended into the sinkhole about 30 feet before he touched solid ground. When the natatorium was constructed, a well was drilled in the rear, and a worker dropped a tool in the well and it disappeared. Apparently this led the builder to believe the hole would serve as good receptacle to empty the pool into once a week when they changed the water. Turns out doing that for the previous 6 months had caused the massive sinkhole to form.

Because the pool was only completed in November, the natatorium stayed open that entire first winter and following summer. However, come the fall of 1905 Luden announced it would be closed for the winter seasons moving forward. Cold months did not signal the end of activity in the building. Luden had another state-of-the-art feature in his natatorium; a wooden floor that could be installed seasonally over the pool which transformed the space into a basketball court. It was unique in the sense that the supporting studs are notched together instead of nailed where it meets the pool surface, so not to harm the enamel tile. Many significant basketball games were held here over the years. In 1906 boxing matches were introduced to the winter activities. This building, far ahead of its time, was a predecessor of the modern arenas that can transform themselves into a variety a venues.

In 1911 the building was leased to the Y.M.C.A., which they used as their headquarters until their own building with an indoor pool was constructed a few blocks away at Washington and Reed Streets in 1914. They mainly used the natatorium for sport, but the Reading Times did report them as having three members baptized in the pool in 1912.

In 1917 Luden sold the building with a provision of sale being that as long as the owners retained possession that the Natatorium shall remain a public swimming pool. Those new owners sold it three months later to Arthur Bach, who already owned a successful Natatorium on Broad Street in Philadelphia. Bach made a variety of improvements to the property. When Luden purchased the property in 1904, there was three story home fronting 5th Street, which was not originally connected the natatorium he built out back. Bach renovated and added to what was the home, making the once separate buildings joined together. He also installed the Art Deco Facade in 1929 giving it a seamless frontage along 5th. Under Bach’s management the pool system was upgraded, “it contains 135,000 gallons of sterilized triple filtered city drinking water, heated by a large boiler to pleasant temperature“.

Bach also transformed the pool into floored space during the winter months, but instead of sports he mainly hosted public dances and dancing lessons in the space. Worth noting that at no point in this research did I find that anyone drowned or died as a result of swimming in this pool. There were some injuries reported over the years; mainly kids slipping and breaking bones through no fault of the management.

Unfortunately in 1934, likely in part due to the depression, Bach defaulted on his mortgage on the property and it was sold to the Berks County Trust Company. While the shop spaces in front were advertised in newspapers during the proceeding decade, no mention of the pool was made. We can assume this means it largely sat unused.

In 1943 the property was purchased by the Jewish Community Center of Reading and served as a hub of activity for Reading’s Jewish population. The space held lectures, dance recitals, meetings and other community outreach programs, but no mention of the pool was made in newspaper archives. The building served as the JCC for over two decades, until they sold it in 1966 to the Berks Development Corp. The pool sat unused for another decade.

The property was sold to Doran One LLC in 1975. In 1980 a spa and fitness center called “Nautilus” opened in the natatorium space. Early newspaper ads for the business promote exercise machines, saunas, physical therapy, electronic acupuncture and whirlpools – but no mention of a full-sized swimming pool.

The property changed hands five more times between the closing of Nautilus in 1985 and the last time it was purchased in 2007. Reading Eagle archives reveal little about the property’s tenants, none of which seem to have utilized the natatorium space. In fact, I can not find any evidence that the pool has been opened back up from its winterized floored-in state since Bach lost possession of it in 1934. If you have any information or memories that contrast that conclusion, feel free to let me know in the comments.

In 2007 the property was purchased by Hope of Nations Christian Center, who currently use the natatorium section as their sanctuary. One of the two merchant spaces fronting 5th Street is occupied by Salt & Light Cafe. Other space on the first and second floors are home to church offices, classrooms and other meeting areas. The Hope of Nations church in collaboration with the Neighborhood Auntie of Reading are currently pursuing funding to help turn the third floor into a holistic youth center with a gym (which is above the Natatorium section of the building) and rooftop garden. They want to continue to honor Luden’s vision for the “health and happiness of mankind” by creating a safe space for city youth that offers healing, mentorship rooted in lived experience, free mental health support, and workforce development.

It has been over 120 years since Luden’s initial endeavor to give children and the general public the opportunity to safely learn how to swim. Within the 20th century most every public school in Berks County would build their own pools and add the life skill of swimming to their curriculums, creating a society today where the vast majority of us have some level of competency in the water. It seems fitting that the structure’s utilization change course with a new vision toward the same ultimate destination.

Full video walkthrough coming Saturday