The Willows Pool Slide

ca. 1927-1940

View this item

The Willows Pool Slide
  • Title
  • The Willows Pool Slide
  • Date
  • ca. 1927-1940
  • Identifier
  • 20100519-ocl-0925
  • Source Identifier
  • 2003.07
  • Description
  • Boys wait in line to use the Willows Pool slide, as one slides down toward the water with an exuberant expression on his face. The photo must have been taken during a time of transition in bathing costumes, since some of the boys have suits that leave the torso bare and others wear the older suits that cover more skin. The Willows Pool opened on June 15, 1926. The pool could hold 1.5 million gallons of water in its 325 ft. by 225 foot expanse. It stretched between Washington Avenue and Delaware Avenue and was located across from the Willows night club. The Willows had a park, dock, swimming pool, and ballroom, making it a hot spot for fun for multiple generations of Oakmonters. Beauty pageants and even canoe races were common at the Willows Pool at the time. The Miss Pittsburgh Pageant was held at the Willows Pool in 1929. When the owner went bankrupt in 1934, the borough purchased and maintained the pool until 1947 when new owners bought the pool. The Willows Pool closed in 1970 when attendance dropped low enough to no longer make maintenance costs worthwhile. An apartment complex now stands on the property. Originally from the collection of Martha E. Anderson.
  • Type
  • still image
  • Genre
  • photographs
  • Subject
  • Oakmont (Allegheny County, Pa.)
    Willows (Oakmont, Pa.)
    Recreation--Pennsylvania--Oakmont
    Swimming pools--Pennsylvania--Oakmont
    Swimming--Pennsylvania--Oakmont
  • Source
  • Oakmont Carnegie Library Archives
  • Contributor
  • Oakmont Carnegie Library
  • Collection
  • Oakmont Historical Image Collection
  • Rights Information
  • Copyright Not Evaluated. The copyright and related rights status of this Item has not been evaluated. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.
    http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/