Portland’s northernmost indoor pool, closed at the start of the pandemic, will not reopen, according to an announcement by the city’s parks department.
A new aquatic center — slated to feature two pools and possibly additional water features — will be built in its stead, but not necessarily in the same Columbia Park site that has had some form of public pool since 1929. The new center will be built within three miles of the residences at the end of the North Portland peninsula.
There is $32 million in funding already set aside for the replacement facility, which is planned to open in the next five to seven years. In October, Portland reported needing $18 million more to complete the project. That’s compared to the $5 million to $10 million the city estimates it would take to repair the Columbia Pool. The old pool had been operating at a $450,000 loss that was projected to grow, according to the city.
Children appear about to jump into the Columbia Pool in a 1972 photo taken to mark the visit of then-city Commissioner Francis Ivancie. Ivancie would later serve as the mayor of Portland from 1980 to 1985.
Courtesy of Portland Parks and Recreation
“I just don’t understand,” said Paige Craford, 44, who has lived three blocks from the Columbia Pool for nearly 15 years and particularly loves the unique domed structure covering it.
“If I was a new person moving to the neighborhood and there’s this great new pool, I’d think, ‘oh, cool,’” she said. “But having lived there, knowing how much it’s going to cost and knowing that we haven’t had a pool for three years… It’s like you’re trying to serve the community, but how are you serving the community? By taking away a vital resource for a decade?”
A regular user of the pool before it closed, Crawford was on the adult swim team and frequently brought her nieces and nephews to the free swims. She now swims at Matt Dishman pool, which is currently free for North Portland residents, but says the vibe is not the same and it’s not as convenient. She misses the three block walk to the pool and the spontaneous interactions she had with her neighbors.
The entrance to the Columbia pool as seen through the glass of the front door on Dec. 30, 2022.
Lillian Mongeau Hughes / OPB
“It’s a gut-wrenching loss,” Portland Parks and Recreation Director Adena Long said in a Dec. 15 statement. “There’s no way around that. But I think something really beautiful can come from this. A new, full-service aquatic center will represent the largest investment PP&R has ever made in North Portland.”
Parks officials were not available to answer additional questions during the holiday break.
Columbia Park was set aside in 1891 to be the city of Albina’s first park. The towering trees and open meadow in the park today have been under Portland’s authority since 1909, when Albina consolidated with its larger neighbor to the south.
Archival photographs from 1935 show an outdoor wading pool alongside a pool with a diving board.
This Public Works Administration photo shows children in the Columbia Pool in August, 1935. At the time, the pool would have been about six years old.
Portland Parks and Recreation / Portland Parks and Recreation
In 1970, the chairperson of the North Area Neighborhood Council requested a hearing on the matter of winterizing the Columbia Pool, a project that appears to have been completed in 1974.
The domed structure built nearly 50 years ago to keep the pool usable year-round is the one engineers now say should permanently close due to “life-safety hazards and diminishing structural integrity,” as explained in the December statement about the closure.
There has been a pool in this same location in Columbia Park since 1929. The structure pictured here in December 2022 is permanently closed and will be replaced with a new North Portland Aquatic Center, though not necessarily in the same spot.
Lillian Mongeau Hughes / OPB
Parks officials are encouraging community input into where the new aquatic center should be located and what it should include. A survey seeking input on project priorities from potential pool users is open until midnight, Jan. 2. The bureau is also holding community engagement sessions. The next one is set for 5:30-7:30 p.m., Jan. 24 at the Charles Jordan Community Center.