A Canadian Family

The Verdun Natatorium And Wading Pool

Verdun Natatorium – City of Verdun, P.Q.

Swimming pool 200 ft x 75 ft. & diving pool. 75 ft x 50 ft.

Submarine lighting – continual water filtration. – Accommodates 3500 persons per day

~

Excerpt from The Montreal Gazette, 1951

Popular Open Air Pool Pays Verdun Dividends

Montreal is an island surrounded by water – but polluted beaches and lack of bathing facilities make swimming difficult for most of its residents.

Yet in neighboring Verdun, city fathers run one of the largest swimming pools in Canada-and don’t lose a cent in the process.

Any hot summer’s day the pool handles up to 6,000 eager swimmers, and Verdunites suspect that many of them are form Montreal and other municipalities.

The story of the building of the Verdun Natatorium has been a success story ever since it was first thought of back in 1939. At that time a large number of Verdun residents were on relief and the city used their labor for a series of comminity ventures. The three-mile boardwalk was a constant headache to city police. Verdun residents wanted to swim in hot days and it was pretty hard to stop them. Contaminated water sent many of the swimmer to local hospitals.

Continue reading … The Montreal Gazette Archives

On this website

Index: Vintage Postcards Of Communities On The Island Of Montreal

Further Reading:

Maisonneuve | Why Montrealers Should be Jealous of Verdun

Ville de Montréal – Verdun – Natatorium

Remember the Natatorium ROOF? | Facebook

Guided Tour: The Natatorium

April 24, 2011 - Posted by Evelyn Yvonne Theriault | . | swimming pool, Union Jack, Verdun, vintage postcard