TRUE

President Gerald Ford commissioned the installation of an outdoor swimming pool at the White House in 1975 to maintain his daily exercise routine after the original indoor pool was converted into the Press Briefing Room by the Nixon administration in 1970 (National Archives). The 22 by 55 foot rectangular pool was located on the South Lawn near the West Wing and was funded entirely by private contributions to avoid using taxpayer money during a period of high inflation (Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library). Construction was completed in the spring of 1975 and the president took his inaugural swim on July 1, 1975 (White House Historical Association). Ford, a former college athlete and avid swimmer, used the pool twice daily throughout his presidency and it remains in use by the First Family today (White House Museum).