Corrects hours of operation.
PORT ANGELES — A gleaming, newly painted and refurbished William Shore Memorial Pool will open its doors at 5:30 a.m. Monday after five weeks of renovation.
“Everything has been done,” said pool Executive Director Steve Burke, exaggerating only slightly.
“We have new lighting, the pool has been painted, all our walls have been painted,” he said Friday.
“We have new tiling in the showers, new lockers in the locker room, new tile around the perimeter of the pool, new paint throughout the building, new plumbing and new pool lights,” he continued.
“It’s the biggest amount of work that’s ever been done” to the pool at 225 E. Fifth St. in Port Angeles since it opened 50 years ago in 1962, Burke said.
In honor of that fact, admission to the pool — the only public pool in Port Angeles — will be only 25 cents Monday.
“That was the original price when it opened,” Burke said.
The only remaining big upgrade will be accomplished in February, when the heating and cooling system will be improved.
“Once all that’s done, it’s a new pool. Pretty much everything will be new,” Burke said, amending that to say that once the February upgrade is finished, “everything that wears out [will have] been changed.”
The pool was closed June 29 for the $323,000 upgrade.
The February upgrade will cost an estimated $500,000, Burke said.
Renovation is being funded by a $415,000 grant from the state Department of Commerce and a capital improvement loan from the state of Washington, he added.
During this summer’s renovation, 52 tons of metal pipe were replaced with PVC pipe, and more than 50 gallons of paint and 6,000 pounds of tile were used.
A 50th anniversary party of the pool, named for a popular Port Angeles High School teacher and coach who died in 1958, is set for 1 p.m. Sept. 30.
The celebration will feature appearances by members of the Shore family as well as lifeguards who were on duty the day the pool opened, Burke said.
Diving and synchronized swimming demonstrations also are planned.
The summertime closure was selected because July is the area’s driest month and the new paint for the pool would cure easiest then.
The pool is reopening a week later than originally scheduled, but still in time for the Aug. 20 start of swim practice for the Port Angeles High School girls swim team.
The pool gets between 45,000 and 50,000 visits annually, including 175 youngsters a month who receive swimming lessons, Burke has said.
The William Shore Memorial Pool District took ownership of the pool from the city of Port Angeles in 2009 after voters approved the new district to run the pool, which city officials were considering closing because of its age.
The pool is open Monday through Thursday 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information, see www.williamshorepool.org or phone 360-417-9767.
________
Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or at leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb also contributed to this report.
