Local history: Public pool made big splash at Perkins Woods in 1968

Ed Davis would’ve been so happy to see the reopening of Perkins Woods Pool this month at 899 Diagonal Road.

Long before he took office in 1958 as Akron’s first African American councilman, Davis advocated for the development of public pools.

“I can hardly believe that a city this size would make no provision for public swimming pools,” Davis fumed in 1960. “How can we ignore one of the most popular summer recreations?”

Too many private clubs refused to allow Black families to join and too many children resorted to swimming in the Ohio & Erie Canal, a dangerous pastime, because they didn’t have access to a pool, he said.

Davis battled with city leaders for years, but they insisted that Akron didn’t have the funds for such a project. At one council meeting, a group of young citizens chanted: “We want swimming pools!”

“This is just something that we’ve got to make up our minds to do,” Davis said.

Here is the irony: The Ward 3 councilman couldn’t swim. If he had a pool as a kid, it could’ve been different.

Davis thought Akron should build at least two pools, and he identified Perkins Woods Park as an ideal location for one of them.

The 77-acre park was a gift to the city in 1900 from Col. George T. Perkins, B.F. Goodrich president and grandson of Gen. Simon Perkins, Akron’s founder. The park had a playground, picnic area, baseball diamonds, volleyball courts and a little zoo that is now the Akron Zoo.

Funds donated for recreation

Davis’ dream began to materialize in late 1966 when the Beacon Journal Charity Fund, led by Bert A. Polsky, announced it would donate $80,000 (over $790,000 today) to build a public pool at Perkins Woods. The funding came from earnings at the 1966 PGA Championship at Firestone Country Club.

Akron Jaycees simultaneously announced plans for a swimming pool at Reservoir Park in Goodyear Heights with their portion of PGA funds.

Planners selected high ground at Perkins Woods across Diagonal Road from Crouse Elementary School. Blueprints called for a regulation-size pool and two wading pools. The city picked up the $185,000 tab on a bathhouse with dressing rooms, shower facilities and concession areas.

Memorial Day 1967 was the target date for the pool openings, but that was too ambitious. After building trades unions went on strike, the projects stalled.

Undaunted, city officials held groundbreaking ceremonies at Perkins Woods and Reservoir Park on May 15, 1967.

Mayor John S. Ballard said the city had waited “far too long to begin providing this type of facility for its citizens.” About 200 children from Crouse Elementary attended the Perkins Woods ceremony.

“This is an undertaking of great magnitude,” Ballard said. “A number of people have made it possible. But one man is primarily responsible. He has been the catalyst, he has kept pounding until something was done.

“This is a day that Eddie Davis must find most satisfying. For a long time, his has been sort of a voice in the wilderness, crying for public swimming facilities for the people of Akron.

“But now the people have listened and his dream has come true.”

Ed Davis grateful to Akron

A jubilant Davis also took a few moments to speak.

“This is a day I have dreamed of for a quarter of a century and have worked for so hard for during my past 10 years in local government,” Davis told the crowd.

“I am grateful to the Beacon Journal Charity Fund. And I am grateful to the people of Akron, who have agreed to put up the supporting money which will hire the men and women who will take care of these pools, and who will protect the children who will play here and teach them to swim.”

Turning to the children in attendance, Davis continued: “This facility is the first of its kind in the city. It will require discipline on all our parts to give it our steady support, and to keep it completely safe and clean at all times.

“This is an example of the things unseen which can come true.”

Bulldozers began to dig in late July 1967. The Whitmer Construction Co. of Cleveland served as contractor.

After years of anticipation, Akron’s two public pools opened July 1, 1968. Hundreds of children attended the grand openings, waiting in line to splash in the water under the supervision of lifeguards.

Pool hours were 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., although the schedule was complicated. Mornings were reserved for free Red Cross lessons. Children 13 or younger swam for free from 1 to 3 p.m. while youths 14 or older had to pay 25 cents from 3 to 5:30 p.m. An open swim began at 6 p.m. for a quarter, and an adult swim was added from 8 to 11. On weekends, everyone paid 25 cents. The city eventually dropped the fees.

As Davis had predicted, the demand was tremendous. The Perkins Woods staff counted 704 swimmers on the first day. In the first month, the pool served 15,609 swimmers. More than 1,700 children took Red Cross lessons.

Kids sometimes had to wait an hour to get inside. The pool had a capacity of 400 swimmers.

“We’re overcrowded on every hot day,” pool director Ralph Howell noted in 1968.

“We let 300 in at 1 o’clock. At 1:30, we had about 350 waiting. We had to move the first group out of the pool from 2 o’clock to make room for the second group.”

Davis was elected council president in 1970 and became clerk of council six years later. In 1977, the city dedicated the Ed Davis Community Center at Perkins Woods Park. He retired from office in 1988.

“I’ve had a full life and played what little role I could,” Davis once told the Beacon Journal.

The Akron leader died in 1995 at age 77 following a lifetime of public service and civic achievement.

But there was still more to do.

New pool at Perkins Woods

After more than 50 years, the Diagonal Road swimming pool needed an overhaul. City officials agreed to spend $6 million on improvements, using money from a $145 million federal stimulus package that Akron received in 2021 for economic recovery.

The project, which took eight months to complete, included renovation of the bathhouse, a complete replacement of the pool and the addition of a climbing wall, 25-meter lap lanes and shaded seating area.

It was late in the season, but the city reopened the pool Aug. 15. Instead of having a ribbon-cutting ceremony, city leaders invited children to join in a “first jump.”

It was the splash heard around Sherbondy Hill.

The pool will remain open into September as long as weather and staffing allow.

“These upgrades will serve Akron residents for many years to come,” Mayor Dan Horrigan said. “This investment was made with our community’s feedback at the forefront of the planning process and, because of that, this pool will now better reflect the needs and wishes of our residents. This is an exciting day for all of Akron and I look forward to seeing our kids enjoy this public space well into the future.”

And it all began with an Akron councilman who couldn’t swim.

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Public pool made big splash at Perkins Woods in Akron