Saving Queen E Pool begins with you
News and Updates
- Letter to City Council and Community Services (PDF)
- Tuesday, October 7, 2008: Community Services Meeting at 1:30PM at City Hall
The Friends of Queen E. Pool Society arose out of community concern for the declining state of Edmonton's oldest outdoor swimming pool in Queen Elizabeth Park. Limited tax resources resulted in the minimal repairs and maintenance required to keep the pool open and operating each summer from Victoria Day (May long weekend) to Labor Day. Civic authorities ultimately decided that funding for major mechanical repairs would no longer be approved, and any significant breakdown would trigger closure of Queen E. Pool. Despite best efforts of the community, patrons and the Society, the pool failed to open for the first time in eighty-two years in the Spring of 2004, on account of extensive damage revealed when the pool was drained the previous September.
Registered with the Province of Alberta in 1991, the Friends of Queen E. Pool Society is dedicated to the restoration, renovation or replacement of Queen E. Pool. Members of the society meet monthly at the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues Building, 7103 - 105 Street. The Society has campaigned vigorously within the community and with representatives of City Council and the Community Services Department, and has encouraged concerned citizens - especially families - and patrons to do the same. In order to accurately reflect the interests and wishes of stakeholders, the Society has offered questionnaires at the Strathcona Farmers' Market and at an Open House held for public consultation at the Strathcona Community League in January, 2000. Submissions for charitable tax status and municipal historical designation are pending.
Membership fees and donations have provided resources for society operations. Fund-raising initiatives have included applications for grants from the Lotteries board and to Alberta Gaming for a casino license. In the recent past members have participated in a raffle and walked annually en masse in the "Great Human Race" marathon organized by the United Way.
Notwithstanding the best efforts and tireless determination of the Friends of Queen E. Pool, the future - or fate - of Queen E. Pool will ultimately be decided by the citizens of Edmonton.