Kenova West Virginia-1958: Crowded Public Swimming Pool With Striped Umbrella and a Diver

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit

Answers requests for authentic late 1950s colour footage of a crowded American public swimming pool, for documentaries on summer leisure or Ohio Valley regional history.

Period detail

Men's short trunks, women's one-piece suits, a scalloped striped umbrella and a white columned pool building suggest the late 1950s; some swimmers may show bathing caps.

Home-movie behavior

A visitor's quick pan across the pool catches unposed bathers chatting on a platform, people sitting at the edge and a swimmer diving in, none of them aware of the camera.

What appears in frame

A green-and-white striped umbrella, a white raised stand, curved pool ladders, a group standing on a platform, a woman in a pink swimsuit, many swimmers in blue water and white columns behind.

Film character

Handheld 8mm colour with soft focus, visible grain, saturated blue water and a bright blown-out sky, giving it the texture of a genuine amateur summer reel.

Edit role

Works as a brief cutaway or memory beat in a summer sequence, with the dive in the closing frames offering a natural cut point.

Historical context

It shows a large pool drawing a dense crowd of adults and children on a sunny day, a common summer scene in the United States of the late 1950s.

Research note

Copyright in the film is separate from likeness and property; many unidentified bathers, including probable minors, appear in swimwear at small size and soft focus, and the venue is a commercial property.

Research search match

1950s public pool home movie, crowded outdoor swimming pool 8mm, Dreamland Pool Kenova footage, vintage swimmers and diver, West Virginia summer archive film.

Archive pairing path

Pair first with the sunbather and backyard hammock clips from the same reel, then other late 1950s Ohio Valley footage, then vintage public pool and summer leisure clips.