Bathers on the Steps of the Plunge. The Ojai newspaper reported in March 1902 that “Work on the building to surmount the plunges at Matilija Hot Springs has been begun, and the frameworks will be up in a couple of weeks with propitious weather.” The indoor pool was 150 feet long and 65 feet wide. Individual dressing rooms accommodated 70 people. Electric lights illuminated the grounds, and there was a covered dance pavilion.
Later Open Pool at Matilija Hot Springs. Buildings and facilities at each of the Matilija Canyon camps were replaced over time, often due to the fact that one or the other had been destroyed by flood waters. Here we see a replacement to the earlier plunge at Matilija Hot Springs. The scarcity of swimming pools elsewhere in the county resulted in lots of summer traffic to the pools in Matilija Canyon.
The above is an excerpt from Ojai: A Postcard History, by Richard Hoye, Tom Moore, Craig Walker, and available at Ojai Valley Museum or at Amazon.com.