Swimming
“I received an invitation from Hariette Kimball this morning to go with her & several others to Saltair at 3 this afternoon ... Herself being an invalid the Dr advised her to go often for her health….”
-Helen Mar Kimball Whitney
Journal Entry, July 10, 1893
Utahns considered bathing in the Great Salt Lake as healthful long before Saltair opened. Travel guides in the 1870s compared the Great Salt Lake to the Dead Sea, touting it as a natural remedy for respiratory conditions, digestive disorders, and other chronic illnesses. Doctors continued to recommend the healthful benefits of a swim in the Great Salt Lake in the 1890s.
On each side of the pavilion were long, curved walkways with rows of bathhouses – 300 “double compartments” on each side. The Deseret News reassured readers that while descending the stairs to the lake, bathers would remain “unseen by the mighty crowd of spectators and avoid the light remarks and ridicule of the vulgar and unrefined if clad in the too often abbreviated and unsightly bathing suit” (Deseret News, 14 January 1893). Bathing costumes were made from wool, mohair, or summer flannel until the introduction of flexible fabrics (such as latex and nylon) in the 1930s.
Famed writer Wallace Stegner described what it was like to swim in the Great Salt Lake:
"It is impossible to sink, as advertised. But it is difficult to swim because the buoyancy lifts your feet higher than your head. You can drown while floating like a cork…. Unless you are fond of a sensation like sulphuric acid in your eyes and lye in your throat, keep your eyes and mouth shut and out of water. If you have to rub your eyes, suck your finger clean of salt first."
The Saltair Beach Company pumped fresh water to the bathhouses, allowing swimmers to rinse off the salt and brine.
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“Swimming in the brine is exhilarating but you will be uncomfortable later unless you shower in fresh water. Otherwise, you end up crusted with salt like a herring.”
- Wallace Stegner
