North Philadelphia’s Fletcher Amos Playground Pool is finally back in the neighborhood’s summer rotation after a seven-year shutdown, sending families back into the water Friday. For longtime residents who grew up swimming there, the reopening is less a ribbon-cutting than a long-delayed return of a familiar gathering place.
The pool near 16th and Montgomery streets had been closed since before the COVID-19 pandemic and required a full plumbing replacement and deck reconstruction, according to CBS Philadelphia. The project’s finish brought back the sounds of splashing that neighbors had nearly stopped expecting to hear.
Danny Pendleton, who swam at Amos as a child, called the closure “pretty heart-wrenching,” while a parent identified as Tallaya said bringing her 6-year-old daughter to the pool in her former neighborhood has been “awesome,” CBS Philadelphia reported.
Three Philadelphia Pools Returned After Long Closures
Amos was one of three city pools to reopen this summer after extended closures. Philadelphia Parks & Recreation’s official schedule shows the 12th & Cambria Pool and Ziehler Pool also opened on July 6, giving North and Northeast Philadelphia residents two more renovated places to cool off.
The pool work is part of Philadelphia’s broader Rebuild effort, which is investing more than $500 million at 72 parks, recreation centers and libraries using revenue tied to the city’s beverage tax, according to the City of Philadelphia’s Rebuild program. That means the reopening is not just a seasonal fix; it is one visible piece of a much larger attempt to address years of deferred maintenance at neighborhood facilities.
Lifeguards Remain The Key To Keeping Pools Open
The city’s pool comeback still depends on the people watching the water. Philadelphia officials say they staffed 374 lifeguards this summer, while veteran Amos lifeguard Stephon Bey recruited at least 10 new lifeguards and city officials said they want to reach 400 next year, according to CBS Philadelphia.
Staffing also determines how much time swimmers get once a pool opens. The city says schedules vary by available lifeguards, though all open pools offer public swim from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. daily, with swim lessons available through Parks & Recreation programs, according to the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation schedule.
Philadelphia has continued pushing recruitment with free lifeguard training, starting pay of $16.85 an hour and end-of-season bonuses of up to $1,000, the department says in its lifeguard hiring announcement. For Amos neighbors, those staffing efforts now have a tangible payoff: a pool that is full, supervised and finally serving the children who waited for it.
