In 1937, the Babcocks added the finishing touch to their basement—an indoor swimming pool complete with submerged lighting, heated water, air conditioning, porthole windows suggestive of luxury ocean liners, and towering iron cages for tropical macaws. Mary Babcock turned to the well-established and versatile Manhattan architecture firm of Johnson & Porter, which had a reputation for new apartment buildings on the Upper East Side of New York.
Some Museum membership levels also offer a swim in the pool as a perk. Become a Museum member.