The Big Pool opened in 1922 with much fanfare as the world’s largest outdoor free concrete municipal swimming pool, a major community undertaking in Garden City that began in 1921 after Mayor H.O. Trinkle decided he wanted a pool. Built for the community by the community, it was hand excavated by men with shovels and horse-drawn slips, with many local residents helping in work that was said to contribute to its expansive size. Also known as the Great Lakes of the Great Plains, it became a lasting center of community life, remembered like a big family picnic where visitors returned weekend after weekend and year after year to swim and socialize. Because there was no loitering allowed, people had to socialize and catch up with friends and family in the pool itself. Drained once every week for cleaning, it was often freezing cold, but for residents who lacked air conditioning in its early days, the chilly water was refreshing on hot summer nights. Yet the pool was not welcoming to everyone at first, as Latino and Black community members were initially denied admission until both communities petitioned the city for access as equal tax-paying citizens, and access was eventually opened to all as the larger population became fully integrated.