[1] Marais, a businessman in the wine trade, built the pool for his paralysed wife who was bathed in the ocean daily.

In the late 1980s through to the early 2000s the pool was known as a popular hangout for the city's gay community.

[3] Due to concerns with the location becoming a crime hot spot in the 1990s it was closed at sunset every night.

[1] Prior to 2005, although publicly accessible the pool was walled off with only its western side open to the ocean thereby allowing bathers to swim in the nude.

The high walls were demolished due to public concerns with the site being frequently used by prostitutes and their clients as well as for the sale of illicit street drugs.