6. Wally Streeter Pool — Tacoma, Wash.
The swimming pool at Stadium High School isn't unique because it's indoors. It's unique because it's underground.
Photo courtesy of Dan McCormack
What are you most likely to find below most street surfaces? Dirt. Culverts. Sewers. Maybe even subway tunnels.
Natural light makes it to the WallyStreeter Pool through glass blocks.
Photo courtesy of James Catalanich
In Tacoma, they have something unique under a stretch of E Street: A swimming pool.
Stadium (Tacoma, Wash.)
actually has quite a few athletic facilities that draw attention.
There's tennis courts on top of a parking garage, and the football field
is fit snugly into a tight bowl that overlooks Commencement Bay, part
of the spectacular Puget Sound.
But the pool stands out among the athletic facilities at this school, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
"There was controversy associated with the pool. The principal at the time had to choose between building a pool or an auxiliary gym," Athletic Director James Catalanich said. "He selected the pool because it would benefit a larger number of people."
The pool, named after longtime swim coach Wally Streeter, was constructed in 1988 for about $5 million and is used for swimming and water polo. There's even glass blocks on top for some natural light. While it is under a street, that street is no longer open to traffic, so swimmers aren't doing their work under a bunch of moving Fords, Chevys and BMWs.
The underground aspect adds some quirks, said Joy Keniston-Longrie, a Stadium Booster Club member.
"It feels like a tropical cavern due to the humidity. It's loud and it echoes," she said, adding that it has a reputation as a fast pool. "It is scary when the lights go out because it's pitch black."
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