Luther College's current swimming pool is closing for good

The Luther College swimming pool will not reopen after Sunday, bringing to a close a piece of campus history.  When Preus Gymnasium burned down in 1961, plans were made to build a new athletic facility.  www.luthercollegehistory.org says the original plan called for athletic facilities between Valders Hall of Science and the Decorah municipal swimming pool. But former Decorah mayor and Luther College professor David T. Nelson proposed placing the building on the bottomland below the Union, which would then allow for expansion of dormitories, a library, and other buildings on the upper campus. His idea eventually won out and the Field House, along with the many athletic fields, opened in 1964--and included the present swimming pool.