Michigan Union: From Historic Pool to Modern Student Hub and Bookstore

Once a swimming pool, the Michigan Union now hosts students grabbing snacks or studying, a shift since its 1925 opening.

March 9, 2026

Today, the Michigan Union buzzes with students grabbing snacks, studying, or meeting friends. A century ago, it was home to a swimming pool where students practiced their crawlstroke. Located in the basement, where the Barnes & Noble bookstore now operates, this pool was once a focal point of student recreation at the University of Michigan.

A student, circa 1930, leaps from the Union pool’s diving board. — A student circa 1930 leaps from the Union pools diving board Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library

The Michigan Union, crafted by architects Pond and Pond, opened in 1919 with various amenities but lacked a swimming pool due to funding issues. It wasn’t until late 1925 that the pool was completed, officially dedicated on Jan. 15, 1926, during a victorious swim meet against Wisconsin.

A photo of the Michigan Union being dedicated on Jan. 15, 1926, in a swim meet vs. the University of Wisconsin. — The Michigan Union pool was dedicated on Jan 15 1926 in a swim meet vs the University of Wisconsin Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library

For 40 years, the Union pool hosted swim meets, water polo, and recreation, but access was mostly restricted to men. Women could only visit with a male escort or during special events. It wasn’t until 1968, two years after the pool’s closure, that the Union opened to women.

Swimmers at the Michigan Union pool. — A young photographer and later filmmaker named Stanley Kubrick was in Ann Arbor in 1949 on assignment for LOOK Magazine when he captured swimmers at the Michigan Union pool Photo by Stanley Kubrick for LOOK Magazine courtesy of the Photograph Collection Library of Congress Prints Photographs Division

By the 1960s, declining use and rising maintenance costs led to the pool’s closure in 1966, making way for administrative offices and later a bookstore. Interestingly, in 1998, former Alumni Association Director Bob Foreman recounted how visitors, mistaking his office for the pool, would wander in carrying towels.