East Potomac Park: Swimming Pool (demolished) – Washington DC

State:
WASHINGTON-DC

Site Type:
Swimming Pools, Parks and Recreation

New Deal Agencies:
Work Relief Programs, Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Started:
1936

Completed:
1936

Quality of Information:
Very Good

Marked:
No

Site Survival:
No Longer Extant

Description

East Potomac Park rests on an artificial peninsula created with dredge spoils from the Potomac River by the Corps of Engineers.  The park opened to the public in 1912 and was largely developed in the 1920s.

A swimming pool had been contracted for in 1927 but never built.  So, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) stepped up in 1935 to take on the project – which was begun in 1936, interrupted by the Potomac flood that year, and completed afterward.

The pool was located at the north end of the golf course and for three-quarters of a century it was a “favorite for all.”   In 2018, the WPA pool was demolished to make way for a new pool – which was not yet complete in 2020.

Unfortunately, the Wikipedia entry on East Potomac Park makes no mention of the WPA’s contribution.

Source notes

“District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites” (Sept. 2009 ed., p.47).
 
"East Potomac Pool," Washington, DC, Department of Parks and Recreation, https://dpr.dc.gov/page/east-potomac-pool, accessed April 24, 2019.
 
 

Site originally submitted by Brent McKee on June 9, 2012.
Additional contributions by Richard A Walker.

Location Info


972 Ohio Dr. SW
Washington, DC 20002

Coordinates: 38.8747, -77.0275

Contribute to this Site

We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal site.

Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Contribute to this Site

We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal project site.

Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.