Dip Into History at the Venetian Pool in Coral Gables

Many swimming pools these days are never completely drained. But the mammoth, historic city pool in Coral Gables – 820,000 gallons, about 40 times the size of a large home pool – is emptied and filled every night during the busy swimming season, when residents and tourists flock to the cool waters fed by the Biscayne aquifer. Lifeguards Jose Vilar and Miles Charlton can attest to that. On a Sunday night in midsummer, they take fire hose and pressure cleaner to the bottom of the Venetian Pool , the only public pool listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Carved out of a coral rock quarry, the “Venetian Casino” opened in 1924 with two waterfalls, a grotto and high diving platforms. (The high dives are no longer there.) The accompanying coral rock buildings and covered walkway bear Mediterranean features, including barrel tile roofs

more:
Dip Into History at the Venetian Pool in Coral Gables