Travelogues & History
Historians can only estimate how long humans have been indulging the benefits of hot water in natural springs warmed by the earth. One place in Italy, believed to be made by the gods, is estimated to have been in continuous year-round use by health and pleasure seekers for more than 20,000 years – and remains one of Tuscany’s most popular attractions.
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To the ancient civilizations of the Yucatan Peninsula, bodies of water known as cenotes were both essential in daily life and worshiped as the watery portals to the netherworld. Today, these remarkable natural bodies of sub-surface water remain objects of enchantment, and great places to take a dip.
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At the turn of the 20th Century, San Francisco’s Sutro Baths was the world's largest indoor aquatic facility. Although now in ruins, the baths are still a popular spot for visitors looking for a glimpse of the city’s storied past and a classic example of watershaping innovation.
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Marilyn Monroe’s legacy has a new home in a plaza directly adjacent the recently dedicated Downtown Park in Palm Springs, Calif. It’s a beautiful park with an ingenious design that blends modernism of the fabled resort city, while harmonizing with the desert environment. It also features a truly beautiful and inventive watershape.
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Mexico’s equivalent of the San Antonio Riverwalk is known as Paseo Santa Lucia in the city of Monterrey, a place replete with fountains, public art, businesses, apartments and beautiful spaces that attract thousands. Watershaper JC Escudero reports it’s a place well worth visiting, and appreciating from both an aesthetic and technical perspective.
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A place known for breaking records, Dubai in the U.A.E now boasts the world’s deepest pool. Deep Dive Dubai recently opened its doors providing adventure seekers with an aquatic experience that is unlike any other, one that includes an underwater city and a host of innovative features and amenities.
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For more than two decades, watershape designer and builder Ryan Oakes has leant his talents to the ongoing creation of a place known as “The Uncommon Garden” located in Chapel Hill, N.C. Here he takes us on walk through the history of a space so unique, whimsical and imaginative that it defies convenient description – and, yes, it does feature dragons.
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Pools are hitting new heights, literally. In recent weeks, two record-breaking pools opened in Dubai and London, quickly becoming media sensations, both for their daring designs and decidedly elevated locations.
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Despite being located in Florida swampland, there are few to no mosquitos at Disney World? The reason behind that notable lack of airborne bloodsuckers stands as one of Disney’s many great, yet little known, technical achievements and (spoiler alert) the solutions are mostly based on how the movement of water is engineered and managed throughout the enormous and decidedly soggy property.
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Water’s Endless Beauty: an interview with artist April Waters