Who remembers taking a dip in the Tadanac pool?
If you have memories to share of this popular amenity which was drained 36 years ago, the Trail Museum and Archives would love to hear them.
“This week, we are so excited to share the one and only image in the archives of this long-gone Trail amenity, donated by the family of the late Bert Weldon, a former Tadanac resident,” begins manager Sarah Benson-Lord, Trail Museum and Archives.
The Tadanac pool first opened in summer 1959 and was built by the Municipality of Tadanac.
This image was captured one year later, in July 1960.
“Many people do not realize that Tadanac operated as its own ‘city’ from 1922 until 1969, when it amalgamated with Trail proper,” Benson-Lord notes.
The 40’ x 20’ underground pool was built at a cost of $15,000 to taxpayers of the small neighbourhood, which also included an industrial tax base from the smelter.
“Situated just past the tracks where Kootenay Avenue meets Stoney Creek Road, the small but well-loved pool was a haven for residents of the small community.”
The pool was filled in by 1987, due to the cost of maintenance and operations. By this time, responsibility for costs fell to Trail taxpayers as Tadanac was no longer its own municipality and the city had Wright pool in East Trail.
Benson-Lord points to another factor that likely led to demolishing the pool. The swimming stop was in close proximity to the rumbling rail traffic and industrial works, which meant frequent unstable conditions for a submerged concrete vessel.
All outbuildings were demolished the following year in March 1988.
The corner on which the pool sat was widened following the closure, which made more room for increasing Cominco traffic along Maple Road to the Lead North/Research parking lot, further limiting the need for industrial vehicles to use residential streets.
“The site is now slated for a new childcare facility that will accommodate the many shift working families in the city,” she adds. “If you have any photos or memories of the Tadanac pool, please let us know!”
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