Joy and Glory

Eric Herman

Just a couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of spending the day with a long-time WaterShapes contributor – and my good friend – Dr. William N. Rowley. Just a year ago this month, Bill was one of the first recipients of the McCloskey Prize, and as we noted at the time, he has from the start of the magazine been a tireless supporter of our efforts to build pride and professionalism into the watershaping trades.

I always enjoy the time I spend with Bill: His passion, expertise and humility are infectious, and his sense of humor is always, given the seriousness of his engineering-oriented business, a graceful and gracious delight.

During our most recent visit, he took me to see two of his recently completed projects: a nautilus-shaped spa at the Palos Verdes Beach & Athletic Club and the refurbished pool at the Annenberg Community Beach Club in Santa Monica – the latter watershape originally designed and built by Julia Morgan, the architect most famous for designing Hearst Castle. (Rowley discusses both projects and more in his latest feature, “Heritage Trails,” which you’ll see by clicking here.)

It was a beautiful Thursday, with skies as clear as could be following an early-spring rainstorm and stunning vistas beyond both beachfront facilities. As we toured each site, Bill gave me a complete rundown on each project, both of which involved more than a decade of his overall participation. In each case, he told me, these were community efforts to revive historic properties and provide a means for locals to enjoy beautiful surroundings while having fun and exercising.

Bill’s story offers plenty of detail I won’t recapitulate here. What I do want to mention, however, is the youthful exuberance he demonstrated for his work – this from a man with nearly four decades of experience in designing some of the world’s most prominent aquatic facilities. Every nuance was a point of pride, and along the way we met some of the people he’d worked with in bringing these projects to fruition.

Among these encounters was a late lunch shared with pool builder Fred Weiss of Condor, Inc., the construction firm that executed much of the restoration work at the Annenberg facility. He grew up in a family of pool builders, and listening to him and Bill reminisce about decades’ worth of industry experience was fascinating, to say the least. They share a love of watershaping at its finest and have both spent careers dedicated to the achievement of true excellence.

As I drove home late that afternoon, I couldn’t help feeling honored to be able to use these pages to shine a light on their collaboration. It was another of those moments when I simply know that I have the greatest job in the world.

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In a similar spirit, I must point out that this issue carries a feature by Anthony Archer Wills – another recipient of the McCloskey Prize and, to be sure, another long-time friend and supporter of WaterShapes.

This time around, Anthony discusses the techniques he uses to introduce water into ponds and streams (to see “Beginnings,” click here). As does Bill Rowley, Anthony works at the highest level of his craft and does so with unvarnished enthusiasm and palpable joy.

In both cases, I see artist/practitioners plying their trades in ways that bring inspiration, credibility and professionalism to watershaping in all of its many forms.