The Crystal Pool at Glen Echo Amusement Park was a popular summer escape from DC’s oppressive heat when it opened in 1931. Washingtonians could hop a streetcar in Georgetown and arrive directly in front of the Park’s gates (see the article below for a fun account of a wandering adventure walking the trolley line).

The DC Preservation League is spearheading an ongoing campaign to save part of this historic trolley line from demolition and encourage its reuse as a pedestrian and bike path. Check out their website to help save the Foundry Branch Trolley Trestle here: https://dcpreservation.org/places-and-spaces/current-issues/savethetrestle/

The Park was well known for its rides, games, entertainment, and ballroom dances. The $200,000 pool complex replaced the Derby Racer and could hold up to 3,000 swimmers, who could splash around, lounge on to the “big rest float,” jump off low and high diving platforms, ride the water slide, and stand under an electric water fountain that lit up at dusk with rainbow lights. A separate wading area was available for kids.

Photographers Esther Bubley and Theodor Horydczak each captured some moments of summer fun from the pool and the 10,000 square foot beach next to it during its heyday in the 1930s and 1940s (photos are all from the Library of Congress digital collection).

The pool, as well as the entire Park, was racially segregated. It was a White-only establishment since the site was initially developed in 1891 as National Chautauqua Assembly. The Park eventually became a notable target of civil rights protests. A new documentary called “Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round” focuses on that period of its history. See the video below for a story on the feature length documentary by Emmy-award winning director Ilana Trachtman:

The pool closed along with the rest of the park in 1968, fell into disrepair, and was mostly demolished in 1982. The National Park Service restored part of the facade in the 2000s (https://www.nps.gov/glec/learn/historyculture/crystal-pool-facade-restoration.htm) and the Park- minus the rides- now functions as an arts and cultural center.