M.M. Cloutier
Special to the Daily News
A century ago in Palm Beach, Olympic swimmers and aquatic stuntmen performed to the delight of affluent winter residents and visitors.
After all, swimming pools back then, still a relatively new concept in America, were often as much about spectacle as they were recreation.
The island was home to two pool complexes — where, for several years, women were required to wear long frocks and opaque stockings when taking a dip.
If you wanted to witness lifeguards riding a 500-pound sea turtle in a pool, you went to a saltwater swimming-pool complex, called Gus’ Baths, which opened in 1910 across the street from today’s Midtown Beach.