Cumberland Pool
Opened in 1927, Cumberland Pool began its life just as Cleveland Heights was maturing into a city. In 1925, residents approved $75,000 in bonds for the construction of the Cumberland park, pool, and bathhouse. World-renowned landscape architect and Cleveland Heights resident A.D. Taylor (who also worked on the design of Forest Hill Park) laid out the plan for Cumberland Park several years prior to the passing of the bond issue. Construction on the pool began in July 1926 and wrapped up in March of the following year. Designed by architect William Robert Purcell, the brick and limestone Cumberland Pool bathhouse wrapped a typical bathhouse layout in a colonial design.
Cumberland Pool opened with a water carnival featuring diving stunts and races that was deemed by one commentator to be "the biggest municipal event of 1927." Indeed, the annual water carnival became the pool's signature event. The following year's carnival, for instance, featured "keen competition among the best swimmers of Greater Cleveland" in over thirty different events and exhibitions. In the 1930s and 1940s, Cumberland Pool drew massive crowds to witness its popular diving competitions as well. In the off-season, the pool parking lot was turned into a community ice skating rink for many years. Cumberland Pool remains one of the places that defines Cleveland Heights today, as new generations of city residents enjoy its many pleasures.
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