Crystal Garden Celebrating 100th Birthday Year
It’s Greg Asimakoupoulos with today’s edition of My Rhymes and Reasons. I’m actually standing in front of the Crystal Garden celebrating 100th birthday year. Greeting you from beautiful Victoria British Columbia.
In 1925 the Canadian Pacific Railroad put up money for the largest indoor saltwater swimming pool in the British Empire. It was here the Crystal Garden right across the street from there you have it the historic Empress Hotel it was the steam from the laundry facility at the elegant Empress Hotel that heated the swimming pool here at the Crystal Garden.
Fascinating story, I would invite you to Google the Crystal Garden Victoria and discover all there is to learn about this historic place. In 1967, there was a chlorine leak which nearly was disastrous. Many people were hospitalized including children. Fortunately no one died, but that was enough of a scare to close this indoor swimming facility with all of its glass encasements.
I’ll step out in the road, when the traffic allows, so you can see just how beautiful this atrium like facility was. It not only was an indoor heated saltwater swimming pool, it was a gymnasium, a ballroom, and it was the place for entertainment. Listen to more in the video above.