Deep Eddy Bathing Beach

Swedish immigrant Charles Johnson built a large home for his family on 39 ares of land in this vicinity in the 1850s. In 1902 two of his children, Mary and Henry, opened Deep Eddy Resort. The Johnsons named the park for a deep hole in the limestone bed of Colorado River at this site that caused the water's current to from an eddy. Recreational facilities included campsites, picnic areas, rental cottages, and a cable ride into the river. Mary Johnson sold the park to A. J.Eilers in 1915. He built a concrete swimming pool in 1916 and renamed the resort Deep Eddy Bathing Beach. Managed by George A. Rowley, the resort featured such attractions as silent movies, a ferris wheel, carousel ride,a diving horse show, trapeze swing over the water, a 70-foot slide, and a 50-foot diving tower. The carnival atmosphere attracted hundreds of visitors each summer. The City of Austin purchased the park for $10,000 on May 31, 1935. Two weeks later a devastating Colorado River flood inundated the city, swept away park improvements, and filled the pool with debris. With assistance from the federal Works Progress Administration, the city rebuilt the park. It reopened in 1936 as Eilers Park and Deep Eddy Swimming Pool. (1991)

Deep Eddy Bathing Beach is a historical marker in Austin, Travis County, dedicated in 1991. It is one of 336 historical markers documented in Travis County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 641 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 30.2770, -97.7731 near Austin. The nearest cataloged historic site is The Johnson Home (historical marker), about 0.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include Travis County, McGill, Ashford, House (Zilker Park Refectory), and Austin High School.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5453006446. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.