HISTORY + FACTS
Fast Facts
Grand Opening: May 1997
Pool Capacity: 99 Swimmers
Length of Pool: 20 Yards
Brief History of our Pool
1945: Ralph Hamilton develops idea to create a pool in Charlevoix
1995: Friends of Charlevoix Pool raise $800,000 through private donations, making our Pool one of only six in the nation to be built entirely with donations.
1995: The original pool office was created in Bruce and Barbara MacArthur’s kitchen.
1995: Local architect, H. Jack Begrow, AIA, designed the Pool and a groundbreaking ceremony was held.
1997: Pool opened its doors with Ralph Hamilton proudly cutting the ribbon.
2004: Recreational Authority Millage for the City of Charlevoix, Hayes Township and Charlevoix Township was passed. Funds help manage reasonable user fees and are an important part of the operating budget.
2014: Millage was renewed for ten years.
2019: Ribbon cutting for Pool Renewal. Pool building expanded and updated with new men's and women's lockers room, two private bathrooms, community rooms and new offices. This $1.8 million project was paid for by donations and grants.
2021: Totally repaved (not resurfaced) the parking lot and driveway. Funded 100% by grants and donations. $230,000 project.
2022: Totally resurfaced the pool which entailed chipping away deep into the cement, removing the debris and then resurfacing the pool bottom and sides. This was a major capital project of about $78,000 that was paid for entirely by donations and grants; tax dollars were not used on this project. PHOTOS
1997 Ribbon Cutting with Bruce MacArthur (left) and Ralph Hamilton (center)
2019 Ribbon Cutting for the Pool Renewal with Board and Staff: (front center) Naomi Singer (President) and Mike Dow (Vice President) , (back left to right) Bill Crook, Kathy Wells, Susan Schlaybaugh, Bruce Herbert, Chris Abbey, Megan Gardner, Sharon Hoffman, Ed Russell, Chelsea Biddick, and Steve Hansen
Repaving of the parking lot in 2021
Pool resurfaced in September 2022
The Original Charlevoix the Beautiful Pool
An indoor heated 30x100-foot, 105,000-gallon swimming pool, housed in a 63.5x154-foot building called a “natatorium,” was part of The Inn, hotel above the depot. It opened in 1898 along with the hotel and aged over the years because of constant humidity. The pool was sold by the Pere Marquette Railroad, which owned the hotel, to the Chicago Club resort, date unknown, and was torn down, we believe, in 1926. It was also open to the public for a very nominal fee, much appreciated by the locals. The interior was finished in Norwegian pine, and there were sixty dressing rooms along the upper gallery, potted palms, electric lights, trapeze and gymnastics rings over the water—quite the place.
Photos and information provided courtesy of the Charlevoix Historical Society.
