Holding nearly two million gallons of water, the Big Pool was hand dug and had its concrete poured by people from the Garden City community in 1921. It began as one large undivided expanse of water, and over the years swim lanes, diving boards, and an inflatable obstacle course were added. At first the pool was not fenced, so people visited at any hour they pleased, and dogs sometimes joined their owners in the water. Cleaning it was a chore, requiring a fishing boat to add pool chemicals and vacuum the pool bottom. After its inaugural season in 1922, the first upgrade was the addition of a bathhouse, a WPA project, and a children's wading pool, both built during the 1930s. By the 1990s the pool was showing its age, and the City Commission prepared a master plan for phased improvements as the budget allowed. In 2003, the Garden City Recreation Commission took over management, and user fees were charged for the first time. Those funds helped support the third and most visible facelift in nearly 84 years. In 2006, the pool reopened with five newly installed slides, a plunge pool, and a bulkhead dividing it into north and south halves. In 2019, as operating costs rose and daily attendance declined, the city gathered community input through surveys to schools and civic and community groups. Support for an upgraded aquatics center was unanimous, and a design team was chosen to carry out improvements including a zero-entry pool, a lazy river, new water slides, diving boards, a competition lane pool, lounge areas, shade structures, and an updated bathhouse.