The summer of 1974 saw the opening of a new swimming pool in Dundee which provided children with unforgettable childhood memories.
Dundee Central Baths at the harbour were replaced with the Dundee Swimming and Leisure Centre.
Architects were invited to submit plans when new baths were needed which included some very ambitious designs.
Plans submitted by James Parr & Partners in 1971 were approved after much deliberation and work started shortly afterwards.
The pool was originally meant to be part of a larger leisure complex on the waterfront, including a cinema, theatre and conference facilities.
In the end, however, only the swimming pool and Tayside House were built.
The centre was finished almost a year behind schedule.
Construction of the pool complex was delayed by a shortage of construction workers, distribution problems and the three-day week to conserve coal stocks.
The Baths Committee were at loggerheads with main contractor Tensa Construction with a number of major items still outstanding by May 1974.
Treasurer Ron Tosh said he wished to amend the minutes to show the committee were “no longer prepared to accept the excuses handed out by these contractors”.
A recreational paradise on the doorstep
An Evening Telegraph advertising feature in July 1974 said every man, woman and child in the city would have “access to this millionaire’s playground”.
The Tele said: “With £1.5m worth of materials and imagination, you could build a recreational paradise.
“It has already been done – right on our doorstep.
“But the new Dundee Swimming and Leisure Centre is no millionaire’s private playground.
“It belongs to every man, woman and child in the city.
“When the centre opens to the public next Monday, Dundonians will soon realise that it is not merely a superb successor to the old Central Baths.
“It is a leisure emporium which anticipates the increase in free time we will all soon enjoy.
“From a swimmer’s point of view, the luxuriously appointed and spacious centre is a dream come true.”
Admission charges for the new pool were 15p for adults and 10p for juveniles.
Entry was from the aerial walkway connecting the swimming baths to Tayside House, which was eventually replaced by a covered bridge.
There were four pools at the leisure centre
The main pool was 33 metres long.
There was a diving pool with 1m, 3m and 5m springboards.
The spectator gallery – running the full length of one side of the main pool and adjacent diving pool – seated 350 people and had a view of the electronic scoreboard.
There was a pool for toddlers and babies.
The fourth pool was 25 metres long and 42 feet wide and situated in a separate hall.
It was intended for use by schools and clubs.
Many people will remember the large viewing gallery overlooking the pool.
Swimming lessons were 40p and 25p.
There were also sauna baths costing 50p, which worked on the principle of “cleansing through perspiration and invigorating by a cold plunge”.
Need a wash?
You could just turn up for a bath or shower for 12p including soap and towel.
The Evening Telegraph said the centre’s “magnificent swimming facilities” were backed up by spacious locker rooms and changing rooms.
A guide was given on how to use the new 5p lockers for belongings.
The Tele said: “The fibreglass lockers work on an unusual principle.
“They stand open until a coin is inserted, when they can be locked.
“The key, attached to a rubber band, can be worn on the wrist during swimming.
“When the swimmer returns to the locker and opens the door, the 5p is returned.”
Fintry lad Mark was first in the queue
The Tele suggested the year-long delay was worth the wait.
It said the setting was “more reminiscent of a luxury hotel than a local baths”.
There was a restaurant for 300 people that served snacks at any time and full lunches every day from 12pm to 2pm.
Soups and salads were available on Sunday.
First through the door on Monday July 15 was Mark Christison from Fintry.
He was already wet by the time he got in at 9am and paid his 10p after standing at the front of the queue from 5.45am in the pouring rain.
There was a queue of 400 people when the door opened.
On the whistle to mark the pool being in use the hordes of screaming and excited children “dived, jumped or were carried involuntarily”.
The Courier said: “Well over 3,000 swimmers and spectators visited Dundee’s new swimming and leisure centre yesterday when it officially opened for business.
“The actual figure was 3,556, excluding the many people who simply visited the cafeteria, to which admission was free.
“In the days of the old Dundee Baths, the average attendance for a Monday was 1,000.
“By 1.30pm, 1,400 people had paid for admission.”
The pool eventually became the Olympia
The pool opened seven days a week from 9am-8pm Monday to Friday.
Saturday opening was 8am-4.30pm and 10am-4pm on Sunday.
And people loved it.
Within four weeks, it had welcomed 100,000 people through its doors.
Later additions included an indoor climbing wall, sunbeds, saunas, steam baths and toning tables.
Adding its legendary waterslides in 1987 cost around £500,000.
The approach to Dundee from Fife was marked by the coloured flumes.
Who could forget going down the Red Rocket, Blue Bomber, Green Glider and the Cannonball?
The swimming pool was ideal for family fun in its glory days and the biggest decision was always which slide you were going to go on first.
It was joined on the waterfront by the £5 million Stakis Earl Grey hotel and adjacent Stakis Regency Casino during the yuppie era of ‘loadsamoney’.
Dundee Swimming and Leisure Centre became the Olympia in January 1990 following a revamp that included a new mural for the main entry.
By the dawn of the 21st century the Olympia’s days were numbered.
Olympia was Dundee’s most popular paying attraction with 374,000 visitors per year.
Despite its continued popularity the building was acknowledged to be past its sell by date with over £1m being spent each year to maintain it.
The old Olympia bit the dust in 2014
A small upgrade costing £1m was completed in 2004 to keep it going until a replacement could be opened.
Several locations, including around the railway station, near the Overgate Centre, near DISC on Mains Loan and at Camperdown were all looked at.
A site at the Allan Street car park was chosen.
40-years on from its 1974 opening, the old Olympia was reduced to a towering pile of rubble in February 2014 before the Dundee site was finally cleared in mid-April for redevelopment.
Tayside House, the Hilton Hotel and the Gala Casino building also disappeared.
The waterfront as it was is now completely unrecognisable following the sheer scale of change the city has undergone to make space for V&A Dundee.
The new swimming pool – also called the Olympia – cost £33.5m to build.
It has been plagued with problems since opening in 2013 including a closure lasting more than two years whilst £6m worth of repairs were carried out.
Each debacle fuelling a longing for the old Olympia that we loved as kids.
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