LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s the first day of summer, which means more Kentuckians will have their eyes on local pools to pass the time during long, hot days.

But a Louisville community is highlighting the need for a swimming pool in their park. The Algonquin neighborhood’s community pool will be closed this season, but officials said it has needed a lot of maintenance for years.

What You Need To Know

  • The Algonquin community pool in west Louisville will undergo renovations, remaining closed for the entire summer this year

  • Neighbors are reminiscing on decades of memories made at the community pool

  • Algonquin Park’s pool had been the only public pool on the city’s West End

  • Free summer passes to the YMCA and Kentucky Kingdom were made available to some families in the area during the pool closure

Lyrik and her mother, Shawquita Scott, love their neighborhood park.

“It brings everything back to the community,” Scott said.

She emphasized the importance of having a community pool. 

“It’s just something for the kids to do,” Scott said. “Right now, when I want to take my kids to go swimming, we have to go way out to Fern Creek, and it’s not fair if we have a pool right here in our community.”

They live mere blocks away from the Algonquin community pool. The pool closed late last week because of a reconstruction project that’s set to begin later this summer. 

An aging sign displayed at the Algonquin Park Public Pool in Louisville, Ky. (Spectrum News 1/Jonathon Gregg)

Frank Anderson, 76, is another pool supporter. As he reminisced about his childhood days, he said the lifeguards made it safe to play in the pool.

“Always if you done something wrong, like doing cannonballs close to people [or] some other things, …they will set you down. You got to do a 15-minute—like you do in school 15-minute timeout. And then, boy, 15 minutes seemed like a half an hour,” Anderson recalled.

Now, he wants to do his part by drawing attention to the issue so this neighborhood can have a functioning community pool.

While the renovations take place this summer, a new proposal could help cover the swimming pool with a bubble for the fall and winter months.

In the meantime, free summer experience passes are now available for some families in the Algonquin neighborhood. The passes are for families being affected by the Algonquin pool closure in Louisville’s west end. 

Louisville Metro Councilwoman Tammy Hawkins said the free passes—800 to Kentucky Kingdom and 200 to the YMCA—will help hundreds of families. 

“With the YMCA passes, it’s a household,” Hawkins said. “So if you have five to live in a household, if it’s seven, they live in a household. You’ll get a voucher for that.”

If you live near Algonquin Park in Louisville, and you’re interested in one of the summer experience passes, call Councilwoman Tammy Hawkins’s office at 502-574-1101.

Related Stories