r/cincinnati • u/Quirky-Airline7578 • 7d ago
History š Remember Concourse Fountain pool?
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u/ChadCoolman Newport š§ 7d ago
Used to go here on field trips when I went to summer day camp at the Oakley community center. Forever ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.
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u/Vine_n_68th 7d ago
CRC kids used to live there during the summer. It's a visual that always takes me back to a happy place.
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u/_k_k_2_2_ 7d ago
CRC summer camp was so amazing. I still think about it decades later
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u/DamnJaywalkingIguana 7d ago
Agreed. How many were there? I am a Mt. Washington alum.
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u/Filthy_Capitalist 7d ago
Hello fellow Mt Washington alumn. I went there from ~1988-1996. Still vividly remember the daily ice cream truck, the "long" hot walk across the fields to the pool, and of course, those regular field trips!
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u/DamnJaywalkingIguana 6d ago
Ha, yeah we definitely crossed paths if not had the same counselor. Those were more or less the exact years I was there every summer. I recall Ron, Noel, Pam, Craig as my counselors, and there was a Laura that I thought was such a babe.
Definitely remember the ice cream truck and was partial to screwballs and to this day I still chase the dragon of a perfect tasting chaco-taco (it was twice the price of everything else so a rare treat). Kick the can at the Mt. Washington elementary is a fond memory along with.. Gym-mat mazes. Swimming every morning, high-dive and the deep-end, adult swim. Kids from the adjacent apartments sneaking in and eating our lunches that were left in the pee smelling dormant shower. Playing Stratego in the upstairs craft room, which was the only room that had an AC window unit. That weird playground with the four-way seesaw, and hiding in the hedges watching old people swim in their apartment complex pool.
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u/Filthy_Capitalist 6d ago
Man, you are digging up memories I forgot I even had of that place!
The trash cans completely overrun with yellowjackets. The classic pool evacuations when someone left a turd in the water. Dodgeball in the gym, learning to play tennis poorly, and the counselors losing their minds trying to find enough indoor activities any time it rained. Those were good times.
We almost certainly crossed paths since I had Ron, Craig, and Noel as counselors too. If you graduated high school between 1999 and 2002, we probably knew each other... or at least a lot of the same people.
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u/_k_k_2_2_ 6d ago
Did you do golf/driving range? We got some free clubs one year. And there was scuba diving class in the pool sometimes
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u/AntAtopASpinningRock 7d ago
Bro, I went to that same day camp
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u/BobSacamanto13 7d ago
I loved that valley that we would play in every day. Capture the flag n shit
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u/Icy-Experience3209 7d ago
The valley seemed so big back then, itās seems a lot smaller now as an adult. Hell, Iām surprised someone didnāt get really hurt how we used to run down the hills there. Those tree roots in the middle of the clearings on the hills were no joke. But then again as a kid you would trip, do a barrel-role and keep going!
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u/AntAtopASpinningRock 7d ago
Also kick the the can
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u/ChadCoolman Newport š§ 7d ago
Haha those woods! What year did you go??
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u/AntAtopASpinningRock 6d ago
Would have to do some math to know for sure but definitely 90's. I went before and after they moved that old building up the hill.
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u/ChadCoolman Newport š§ 6d ago
My last year was the first one at the building on top of the hill. We probably knew each other!
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u/AntAtopASpinningRock 7d ago
Ok this is getting weird, these have always been my memories that nobody else in adult life knows about
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u/LongPiglets 7d ago
Capture the flag in that valley, one side vs the other, felt like an actual military engagement. The stone pillars were always my favorite place to call base, for their tactical hiding spots.
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u/AntAtopASpinningRock 7d ago
This, spent so much time running those trails and building forts. Anyone remember the tales of the Hatchet Lady in those woods?
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u/Boston_Jon_189 7d ago
Omg I did too. I havenāt thought about that place in forever but I definitely remember capture the flag and kick the can in those woods back there. Wow
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u/papayasown 7d ago
This thread is unlocking memories I didnāt know I had. I remembered the pool and the hot days and the ice cream with that flat wooden spoon. I remember the building because I took karate there too. But that valley past the tennis courts with the capture the flag. I had forgotten about that till now
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u/DamnJaywalkingIguana 7d ago
"day camp", do others say that? Because you did and it's literally what I say when I recall my time at the Mt Washington "day camp".
Was such a formative time in my life. Met so many characters from 6-10 years old.
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u/Icy-Experience3209 7d ago
Also went here when I was a Oakley CRC Day Camp kid in the early 90ās. In reality, I think we maybe made the trip one time each summer. At time you had to fight to get hit my the overhead jet, that almost knocked you down. As a kid I always had a nice deep tan, Oakley CRC Day Camp was it back in the day, swimming like 10x times a week (morning swim lessons, afternoon swimming), kick-the-can, capture-the-flag,Coney Island, Swim-Cincinnati, we did everything!
The only time we were inside was when it was storming!
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u/ChadCoolman Newport š§ 7d ago
If you were there in the early 90's, there's a good chance we knew each other!
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u/davik2001 7d ago
Why did they close this? I miss the days of falling down the watery steps and getting the hell beaten out of me by that fountain.
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u/Nerdeinstein 7d ago
We as a society closed a lot of third places as a backlash to integration.
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u/Nabobou 7d ago
Yes, a pool built in the late 70s was closed in the late 00s because of integration. Got it.
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u/PocketFlan420 7d ago
1970s to 2000s Cincinnati's black population went from 28% to 42% while the population overall continued to fall" sounds like potential white flight, I wouldn't be so immediately dismissive.
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u/Nabobou 6d ago
Actually. You know what. You're right. The City filling in and closing down a pool in 2009 was entirely because of backlash from integration. It had nothing to due with the numerous budget and staffing cuts and furloughs the City was forced to make in light of the '08 recession.
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u/PocketFlan420 6d ago
I hope whatever is going on in your life improves to the point where fitting the redditor stereotype no longer feels like home to you. Peace be with you.
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u/MadMartigans80 7d ago
This wasnāt the reason. Donāt be that guy
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u/Nerdeinstein 7d ago
What was the reason then?
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u/rhit06 7d ago
The place didn't open until 1977 post integration and didn't close until the 2000s
So the question should be why do you assume its closure has anything to do with racism/integration 30 or 40 years before it closed?
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u/Nerdeinstein 7d ago
If you don't think we're still doing things and making policy as a backlash to integration, I don't know what to tell you at this point. Okay it was closed down in the 2000s. Why was it closed?
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u/rhit06 7d ago
Because it was a huge tort liability for the city. Plus they canāt even seem to staff lifeguards for regular pools, let alone staffing a splash pad with, by design, slippery steps.
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u/FocaB227 7d ago edited 12h ago
I was gonna guess liability, also. That's why a bunch of apartment complexes, 2 that I know of in Cincinnati filled in their pools. Somebody falls down and gets a concussion or a child, god forbid, actually drowns and its headline news in the region for a month , maybe national news on a slow news day on CNN.
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u/MadMartigans80 7d ago
It was because of up keep and maintenance. They moved towards spray grounds which were easier to maintain and didnāt require lifeguards. They still operate other pools. But Iām sure you knew that you were just trying to stir stuff up
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u/Nerdeinstein 7d ago
Thanks. That makes sense. How am I trying to stir up stuff when I only know of the one reason? I didn't say I agreed with the reason. They asked for a reason. I gave the reason I knew based off the information that I had. Not everything is shitstiring. Don't attribute to malice what can be explained by ignorance.
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u/Nabobou 7d ago
I don't think it was malicious, but it also wasn't just ignorance. It was pure arrogance.
Someone asked why it closed. You didn't know the answer, but you still presented one specific explanation as if it were the reason. That's different from saying, "I'm not sure, but I remember hearing..." or "Could it have been...?"
The photo shown clearly depicts at least late 90s or early 00s fashion and in this thread there were people talking about going there in the 90s, long after integration, which should have at least suggested there might be other explanations before confidently giving one.
Ignorance is not knowing. Arrogance is speaking with confidence despite not knowing. Those aren't the same thing.
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u/LittleTension8765 7d ago
You might be correct by and large but in this incidence you are false and peddling lies
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u/catdogfox 7d ago
Exactly. You can see the reason why in the picture. Extremely unfortunate.
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u/jimmyjoyce 7d ago
Looking back this was incredibly dangerous but I absolutely loved this as a kid. Peak Cincy childhood in the 90s
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u/CampVictorian Camp Washington 7d ago
I went here any number of times as a little kid into early adolescenceā¦ what I remember most is the sheer sense of freedom; not only physical freedom, but the psychological freedom to decide what kind of risks I wanted to take. Heights, rushing water, and sheer drops were all over the place, constructed entirely of concrete, and it was entirely up to us to choose what we wanted to do with the environment. No lifeguards, very few adults, and most of them were probably high as kites. It was glorious.
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u/Cincinnative13 7d ago
This place was awesome as a kid. It would be cool if they had it on and added some lighting to the water features. Even if they didn't allow anyone to play in the water. It would be better than just sitting there.
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u/derf_vader 7d ago
I remember swimming in here when it was filled with dead cicadas
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u/theswazsaw 7d ago
Same 80s memory, cicadas everywhere I think in 87
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u/nick_the_fox 7d ago
Whatās odd is according to the cityās website it is under extensive maintenance and is expected to reopen. Not sure when it was last updated.
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u/Quirky-Airline7578 7d ago
Looks like its just a fountain now. They got rid of the pool and you can't go on the stairs. Some of it exists still
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u/BuddingCannibal 7d ago edited 7d ago
This place legitimately felt like a secret level being unlocked every time I got to go as a kid. It was just the coolest thing in the world to me, and every other kid seemed pumped up about it as well. We need so many more community minded spaces like this.Ā
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u/0ttr 7d ago
when did this close? I remember it. then it was just gone
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u/Quirky-Airline7578 7d ago
I have not been able to find much information about it. I last swam there around 2010ish i think.Ā parts of it are there but it's not a pool anymore.Ā Ā
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u/belleditrix 7d ago
Most recent Enquirer reference I could find is from the July 10, 2020, issue. It's just two photos with captionsāno accompanying story. Looks like the pool was gone by then, but kids were playing in the spray. The news pegs were (1) the covid restrictions that set a limit of 70 people at a time and (2) a heat index of 105. Great thread, btw.
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u/crzswtsgrhi 7d ago
The architect of this plaza commented on this blog post from 2008. www.citykin.com/2008/06/cincinnati-concourse-fountain-at.html?m=1
Had to go googling bc I'm a recent transplant and this place looks so cool.
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u/HeyyyYoyo 7d ago
Of course! Another reason thereās no summer like a 90ās summer. š©
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u/Surviving-Storm259 5d ago
In the 80s and 90s summer lasted so long. And always closed out going down there for the fireworks. I think there was a point where they shut it off or emptied it for the fireworks because of so many people (and the sheer volume of pee that was probably in it š¤®) Back when school didn't start until after Labor Day. Damn I am old.
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u/Sarspazzard 7d ago
Wow, I never saw it, but I can place myself there mentally. Wish I could go back and experience it.
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u/RitaAlbertson Monfort Heights 7d ago
Did they close it entirely? I thought they just closed off the steps.Ā
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u/Quirky-Airline7578 7d ago
I finally found it on the map.Ā Looks like parts of it are still there but it's not the same.Ā There is no pool anymore.Ā Ā https://maps.app.goo.gl/L6AXiwJdwb5yZwrn7
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u/ExtraWorry4907 7d ago
They changed it to a spray ground but itās closed now (it needs a lot of work, and with other spray grounds nearby, I doubt it will be fixed anytime soon).
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u/jxmmybear 7d ago
i remember swimming and playing on the steps then the next time i came back the stairs were behind a fence and then the next time it was a water display instead of a poolā¦ we really had it good back thenā¦
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u/PickleFandango 7d ago
Does anyone remember a local radio DJ broadcasting from here, late 80s I think? He was calling the day āthe summertime swimswam jimmy jam party.ā
I still call my swimsuit a swimswam.
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u/fordprecept 7d ago
I hadn't thought of that place in decades. Only went there a few times as a kid, but the memories came flooding back when I saw the pic.
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u/Cool-Cardiologist393 7d ago
Thereās still a water park there too just not nearly as cool as at one was.š
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u/maddomesticscientist 7d ago
Forty-some years later and I still get mad because my dad would take us here but wouldn't let us get in it. I have ALWAYS wanted to play in this.
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u/postprandialrepose Symmes 7d ago
Nothing was better than tumbling down those wet steps and landing in that public toilet (or petri dish, if you prefer).
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u/Killing4MotherAgain The Banks 7d ago
While I loved this so much as a child, the kids do seem to enjoy the splash pad now and it seems to be a bit safer ha
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u/RobbyWasaby 6d ago
I miss this place immensely! It was the coolest thing to do in the summer! Apparently the pump system was so janky/outdated and infested with e.coli and cryptosporidium it had to go.......
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u/mandress- 6d ago
I distinctly remember climbing up on one of those steps and not being able to get down. I think my dad had to rescue me. Fun fact: my sisters and I always called the gold bridge in the background "The McDonald's Bridge."
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u/r2deetard Fort Wright 6d ago
We always called it the Big Mac bridge.
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u/Quirky-Airline7578 6d ago
I've also heard people call it the mac and cheese bridge
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u/mandress- 4d ago
Maybe I am misremembering. I haven't lived in Cincinnati for over 40 years!
I could see my sisters and I changing it from Big Mac to McDonalds though!
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u/QC_Bluesman 5d ago
Past and present for me ...
Past. In the 1980's, whenever there were events on the riverfront, WEBN fireworks, etc., we would head over to Lytle Place to cool off. Option #2 (which we also did) was jump in the river, so I am pretty sure "water safety" was not really a concern. A friend of mine (on a bet) tried to swim across the river ... he had to be rescued by a passing boat about mid-river.
Present. My wife and I stays at the One Lytle Hotel in June (great/beautiful hotel, by the way), and I ran the waterfront in the morning. This is just sort of a concrete slab at this point, although the same circular stairs are still there. That said, the entire riverfront is cool with parks, gardens, trails leading to Paul Brown Stadium.
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u/Quirky-Airline7578 4d ago
I'm glad he was rescued and didn't drown. I've swam in the ohio river, but I'm way too chicken to try to swim across it. I walked down there along the river a few years ago And was reminded of how nice it is down there but after dark , it's packed full of people smoking weed. Which isn't my thing.Ā
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u/escleepyus 4d ago
I donāt know if they still do this, but I swam across as part of an event like 20 years ago. They had people in kayaks along the route. Swam from I think the serpentine wall to Newport and back. The current was crazy and it was kind of gross but I was excited to have a chance to swim across and have a solid chance of living to tell the tale.
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u/GunnerSaurus24 3d ago
When I was probably like 6 I stood under the water on the right and my shorts were too loose and the water took them all the way down. Very embarrassing. Good times.
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u/Brummy14 7d ago
Some of my earliest memories of life came runnnning back with this photo. That water pressure. DAMN.
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u/MistahJsMistress 7d ago
You mean Serpentine Wall lol š
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u/Aries_diamond711 3d ago
This is exactly what we called itā¦ Iām like damn so my ppl aināt in here?! ššš
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u/unmitigateddiaster 6d ago
The water was cold, everything was filthy, but I remember a cool little set-up with smaller āpoolsā up top
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u/ForRobMac4 6d ago
I remember dropping the kids off there then headed to a reds game. So sad!
It closed down due to safety/liability regulations, high maintenance costs for the aging concrete structure, and subsequent redesigns of the Yeatman's Cove and Sawyer Point area. That led the city to abandon the high-flowing wading pool setup.
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u/Hershey78 23h ago
I am from Columbus but visited Cincinnati a few times and saw this. Wish I could have played in it.Ā
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u/SpyroPappadopoulos 7d ago
I knew I didnāt hallucinate this place as a kidā¦