This Clear-Bottomed Swimming Pool Hangs 40 Stories Above the Street (2024)

A swimming pool in the building is always a plus when you're hunting for the perfect hotel (or new apartment). But what about a rooftop swimming pool that extends over the side of a high-rise building, 500 feet in the air, making swimmers feel like they're flying over the city? Market Square Tower, a luxury apartment complex that opened in Houston in November 2016, boasts the tallest clear, cantilevered pool in the United States—and it's not for the faint of heart.

Here's the deal: The building's roof has a large, standard rooftop pool. But if you keep swimming toward its edge, you'll wind up in a gravity-defying overhang 40 stories above the sidewalk. The portion that extends out over the building is 8 feet long and 4 feet deep—just big enough to take a quick fear-inducing dip. There is no cover enclosing the overhang, but there is a clear glass fence bordering it on each protruding side. The pool is strongly reinforced with special waterproof concrete and epoxy-coated rebar, the extension is made of 5.5-inch-thick, clear acrylic plastic, and it was designed to withstand hurricane conditions. International firm Walter P Moore engineered the pool, and the team also worked with aquarium specialists at Reynolds Polymer.

As of now, the pool is open only to residents of the building and their guests (tenants can bring up to two visitors at a time). But there are no rules against walking by the building to get a view of the sky pool from below. That's where some of the coolest photos come from. Check out a few images and videos of the pool, below.