Kenneth Spencer Research Library

Each week we’ll be posting a photograph from University Archives that shows a scene from KU’s past. We’ve also scanned more than 34,800 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

We’ve had several weeks of hot weather on Mount Oread, and unfortunately cooling off in Potter Lake – like the students in this week’s photo – is no longer an option.

Swimming in Potter Lake, 1926. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 0/24/1 Potter Lake 1926 Prints: Campus: Areas and Objects (Photos).
Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).

This photograph was taken from the Spencer Research Library side of Potter Lake, looking toward where Memorial Stadium (behind the trees on the right) and Carruth-O’Leary Hall (behind the trees on the left) now stand. The footbridge is to the left of the large diving boards on the opposite side of the pond, obscured by the large tree.

To see the diving board from the opposite side, see this Throwback Thursday post from last June.

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

Melissa Kleinschmidt and Abbey Ulrich
Public Services Student Assistants

Each week we’ll be posting a photograph from University Archives that shows a scene from KU’s past. We’ve also scanned more than 27,000 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!

Pools are now open across Lawrence, so this week’s photograph shows a time when swimming at Potter Lake was a popular summertime activity.

Diving into Potter Lake, 1912. Strong Hall is visible in the background,
on the top of Mount Oread. University Archives Photos.
Call Number: RG 0/24/1 Potter Lake 1912 Negatives:
Campus: Areas and Objects (Photos). Click image to enlarge.

You can see two other early images of swimmers and diving boards at Potter Lake – one from the 1910s and another from 1926 – in the University Archives online photograph collection.

Caitlin Donnelly
Head of Public Services

Melissa Kleinschmidt, Megan Sims, and Abbey Ulrich
Public Services Student Assistants