An 80 Year Old Tradition is Officially Ending in One Illinois Community

Warm summer days are meant for swimming, and now many residents in Belvidere, Illinois will have to find another place to get their splash on this year.

Belvidere Makes Tough Decision to Close William Grady Pool

Back in the day, I spent many summer days swimming at William Grady Pool in Belvidere. It was closer to my parent's house than most Rockford pools, and quite honestly, we liked it better.

It's been many years since I jumped into William Grady Pool's clear waters, and apparently, the last handful of years have not been kind to it, because the Belvidere Park District just made the tough decision to close the pool permanently.

Belvidere Park District's press release said the decision to permanently close William Grady Pool "did not come lightly or hastily" and resulted from years of declining attendance and major mechanical failures that are no longer fiscally responsible to repair.

Is it COVID's fault attendance at William Grady Pool started to decline drastically? Maybe.

Is it Father Time's fault that 80 years of fun at William Grady Pool had to finally come to an end? Most likely.

Belvidere Park District's press release also said;

Between an ever-aging infrastructure, failing mechanical equipment, outdated features, environmental and financial impacts of the constant water seepage, the rising overhead operational costs, decreased attendance and the recent challenges in staffing, we feel that continuing operating the facility is not sustainable

Community surveys also revealed that the majority of residents want a new, modern aquatics facility, so the Belvidere Park District will now begin the planning phase for that and would really like public input.

If you desperately need a place to cool off and have some splashtastic fun in Belvidere this summer, don't forget the Sprayground in Doty Park is still open for your water enjoyment!