In summer 1946, some of Sonja Mast’s most cherished days were spent as one of the first female lifeguards at Roosevelt Pool in Glenview.
“It was marvelous, sitting out in the sun all day long and feeling important with all those little children around,” said Mast, 76. “And flirting with the boys!”
But pools and people wear out over time, Mast concedes.
Glenview’s Roosevelt Pool, now in its 65th season, and Flick Pool, which opened more than 40 years ago, will close for good Aug. 15 so demolition can begin for two replacements.
With the countdown to the closings well under way, the nostalgia is almost deep enough to wade through. The pools, especially the older Roosevelt, long have been summertime fixtures in the community.
“It’s so familiar to everybody and it’s like an icon,” said Cathy Crowley, 86, who served on the Park District board for 30 years and whose 10 children learned to swim at the pool. “Everyone has a very strong emotional attachment to Roosevelt Pool.”
To mark the pool’s 50th anniversary, Glenview Park District officials held a ball and created more than 100 replicas of a village resolution that recognized the week of July 4 as “Roosevelt Pool Week.”
Over the years the pool attracted attention because it was one of the few left in the country with an odd circular design, Park District officials say. The sides gradually slope to the center, where the water is at its deepest at 9 feet. Lifeguards used to be stationed on a small island in the middle.
Construction of the pool, in Roosevelt Park at 2239 Fir St., began in 1938 as a Depression-era Works Progress Administration project. Flick Pool, a traditional rectangular design in Flick Park, 3600 Glenview Rd., was built in 1963 by the Park District.
With age came cracked pipes, leaks and facilities that no longer met public health standards. Park District officials estimate they will lose more than $150,000 this year in daily fees and season passes as residents flock to more modern pools.
They hope the renovated pools, with a roughly $16 million price tag for both, will better serve the community and still maintain some of the old flair. Both will keep the old names and are expected to open in time for next summer’s swimming season.
The new Roosevelt Pool site will include a five-lane lap pool, new waterslides and updated locker rooms. Though the main pool will lose its round shape in favor of a semicircular configuration, it will have a gradual slope similar to its predecessor.
Flick Pool will have a tot pool, a 12-foot diving pool, an eight-lane lap pool and a teen pool area. More grassy places will be added around the pools, and the concession areas and lockers will be updated.
In March, voters approved a measure that allowed the Park District to sell $13.95 million in general obligation bonds to pay for most of the renovation. Also, $2.4 million will be generated by selling bonds to be repaid through compensation the Park District gets from a special tax-incentive district in The Glen community.
On one of the waning days at Roosevelt Pool, dozens of children splashed among fiberglass black seals, green alligators and white elephants that shoot water through their trunks.
Carolyn Yousse spent a solitary moment reading on the pool deck while her two sons swam nearby.
Yousse, 45, has been going to the pool since she moved to Glenview about three years ago and says it’s outdated.
“These pools are really old,” she said. “I think Glenview’s gotten its money out of them.”
Mast, the former lifeguard, agrees.
Despite her fond memories of the “glorious golden days” she spent there, she understands the need for change.
“Things wear out–including me,” she said.
