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Under Construction
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Picnic for Doctors
The General Practitioners’ Medical Society will hold their 15th annual picnic at the park Thursday, August 14. A basket lunch will be served.
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New Park Pool Second Largest of Its Kind in United States
With the completion of the impressive new swimming pool at Olentangy Park, some of its standout features are worth highlighting.
The pool is massive—85 feet wide and 325 feet long—and holds over one million gallons of water. Thanks to modern plumbing, it can be filled in just five hours and drained in three. The water comes directly from the city’s mains and is 100% clean and safe for swimming. A continuous flow of fresh water will circulate throughout the day to maintain cleanliness. On especially busy days, the pool will be fully drained and refilled as needed to ensure the highest sanitary standards.
The pool was added by Will D. Harris, who operates the park. He invested over $15,000 in the project as part of his lease agreement. To put its capacity into perspective: if you tried to empty it using a one-quart bucket—moving one quart per minute, 24 hours a day—it would take more than 23 years to finish the job!
The pool will be open daily from 9 a.m. until the park closes each evening. Night swimming will also be offered, with the same lighting, safety, and supervision as during the day. Emmett Ruh will oversee a trained team of lifeguards, including well-known locals like Charles “Chic” Harley. All lifeguards are certified and capable of teaching swimming lessons to beginners.
The pool has a gradual slope—from a shallow end of just 18 inches to a deep end reaching nine feet. More than 7,000 bathing suits have been made available for rental, featuring the latest styles and colors. The modern bathhouse includes showers, lockers, and full amenities to ensure a comfortable experience for all guests.
With this new addition, Columbus now boasts the largest artificial swimming pool in Ohio and the second largest in the entire United States. It can accommodate up to 5,000 swimmers at one time, and laundry facilities allow cleaning and drying bathing suits within 10 minutes.
For those watching the swimmers, live band concerts will be held regularly at the nearby North Bandstand, and special events will be scheduled throughout the summer.
State and local health officials will monitor water quality regularly, and a doctor will always be on site for emergencies. Every effort has been made to create a fun, safe, and thoroughly enjoyable experience for families and swimmers of all ages.
Based on “New Park Pool Second Largest of Its Kind in United States.” The Columbus Sunday Dispatch. July 15, 1917. Page 42. (Digital Archives) -
Special Matinee Performance Today
Due to the annual outing of the Columbus Retail Grocers at Olentangy Park today, the stock company will present a special matinee, featuring Richard Buhler and Lillian Kemble in “Common Clay.” All retail grocery stores will be closed for the day to allow employees the opportunity to enjoy the outing at the park.
Tonight also marks the debut of a special nightly event for the upcoming week — a free outdoor show titled “The European Battlefield.” The performance will begin promptly at 8 p.m. and will finish in time for audiences to attend the theater show, which will start at 8:45 p.m. instead of the usual 8:15 p.m. This adjusted schedule will remain in place for the entire week.
Based on “Extra Stock Matinee.” The Columbus Evening Dispatch. June 20, 1917. Page 18. -
Pool Prospects
One of the most exciting new developments at Olentangy Park, overseen by Will D. Harris, the park’s lessee and operator, is the construction of a massive new swimming pool that’s nearly finished. The location is ideal, and once completed, it will be the largest inland swimming pool in the world. Until now, the largest of its kind was in Kansas City, measuring 200 by 63 feet. The new Olentangy Park pool will measure 300 feet long and 80 feet wide, with a total surface area of 24,000 square feet.
The pool will be 18 inches deep at the east end and gradually slope to a depth of nine feet at the west end. This design caters to both beginners and experienced swimmers, offering everyone a safe and enjoyable experience. Seating will be available on both sides of the pool for thousands of spectators. The bathhouses, built in an L-shape at the pool’s northwest end, will have separate sections for men and women, each staffed with professional attendants.
Harris has also purchased 3,500 swimsuits, all of the latest styles, for public use. Water for the pool will be supplied by two six-inch pipes connected to the city’s water system. The pool’s design allows it to be drained and refilled within just a few hours, making it easy to maintain cleanliness and water quality, especially during hot weather.
Excavation is complete, and most of the concrete work is finished. Construction on the bathhouses is already underway, and the pool is expected to open to the public in just a few weeks. Harris has announced that by 3 p.m. next Saturday, the pool will be ready and filled with water. To meet this deadline, a team of 100 workers will be on site all week, using two large concrete mixers to complete the job.
Based on “Pool Prospects.” The Columbus Sunday Dispatch. June 3, 1917. Page 52. (Digital Archives)