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Continued from last week….
Returning to the timeline of the Plunge….
Less than a year after fire destroyed the original Casino and Plunge, construction began on new buildings to include an indoor natatorium. The original ceiling arches can be seen today. The main pool measured 144 feet by 64 feet and featured a 40-foot slide. It was one of the largest heated, saltwater swimming pools on the West Coast. The pool’s two tanks, with a combined capacity of 408,000 gallons, were replenished daily from the Pacific Ocean. The chilly water was heated from fifty degrees to a comfortable eighty-three degrees.
Today, the Plunge building houses Neptune’s Kingdom Amusement Center, which sports a pirate-themed miniature golf course as the centerpiece of a modern entertainment complex. The two-story course, with talking pirates, booming cannons, and a rumbling volcano, is the only miniature golf course in Santa Cruz County.
Upstairs showcases Boardwalk history with a display of photographs that capture major highlights of past eras. A game deck offers pool, air hockey, ping-pong, video games, and a snack bar.
Thirty thousand people witnessed
The Plunge Water Carnival performs each summer. This was the home of the world record-holding Underwater Natators (human submarines), flying trapeze artists, fire divers, Stratosphere Plungers, water ballets, and Slide for Life daredevils.
Duke Kahanamoku proclaimed that the Plunge was his favorite pool.
Alas, the winds of change came to Santa Cruz when, in 1963, the plunge permanently closed and was filled to create an indoor miniature golf course, which remains in use today.
Ah, but the memories of indoor swimming will remain as a forever reminder of those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.
Everything else is just history
