Revolution Pool, Charlotte's first publicly owned and operated swimming pool,  will close at the end of the 2005 Labor Day weekend and be demolished shortly thereafter.  Located at 1201 Remount Road, it was originally called the Municipal Swimming Pool, first operated by the old Charlotte Park and Recreation Commission, then the Charlotte Parks and Recreation Department, until it was merged into the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department in 1992. 

Wayne Weston, Director of the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department says Revolution Pool is closing for a variety of reasons:

• To clear the way for construction of a new $10-million Regional Recreation Center which will offer many new opportunities for the community (Please see accompanying news release on the community workshop about this.)
• Because the pool is more than 70 years old, has suffered many large leaks and has often required major internal repairs.\
• Because usage has fallen over the years and young people in the community seem to be looking for other recreational opportunities
• Revolution Pool has a significant history.  It was funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a federal program designed in the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression.  This program aimed specifically to put people to work on public works projects ranging from bridges to public buildings to highways to swimming pools.  The pool cost $120,000 and opened in 1938.

This swimming pool was originally built for use only by whites, but became the first municipal pool in North Carolina to desegregate and allow blacks to be admitted.  That was on July 28, 1960.   The Charlotte Park and Recreation Commission agreed to open the pool to all races.  Its chairman, attorney Joseph Grier, Jr. (who still lives in Charlotte) issued a statement at that time saying, "All people have a right under law to use public facilities, including swimming pools, without discrimination on account of race."  The Charlotte Observer report the next day noted that "Three Negro girls were admitted….They swam for about 45 minutes, then left….Some white swimmers left the pool but there were no incidents."

On Labor Day, September 5, 2005 the pool will be open from noon to 6pm, when it will close forever.