The Biltmore Pool
Johnny "Tarzan" Weissmuller, Emmet Kelley, and the Great Wallendas, were frequent visitors to The Biltmore Hotel in the 1930s--not as guests but as performers in "Alexander Ott's Water Follies." In the era of grand aquatic shows, The Biltmore's colossal pool was world renowned as the stage for water ballets, fire divers, comedy acts, high divers, and water polo. To accommodate the throngs of spectators who came to witness the water spectacles, the hotel's owners even built a 500-seat grandstand at the water's edge. In the 1940s, swimming sensation Esther Williams performed there. Now some 60 years later, The Biltmore's pool is still a record holder. At 700,000 crystalline gallons, the pool ranks as the largest hotel pool in the continental United States. Frequently used as a backdrop for movies, fashion spreads and video shoots, it has become a favorite "photo stop."