Jennie Hall Pool Dedication Today

At noon Today, Mayor Bill Foster, and members of City Council will join neighborhood leaders at 2650 Tenth Ave. S. for the unveiling of a plaque observing .

The ceremony will be followed by refreshments and a free swim sponsored by the St. Petersburg Preservation Society from noon to 3 p.m.

Jennie Hall Pool, built in 1954, was the city’s only African American pool in segregated St. Petersburg. In 1959 the city opened its public pools and beaches to people of all races.

In 1950, St. Petersburg was a fully segregated city as were the majority of southern cities. Swimming pools were considered as popular and all American as movies but African Americans, particularly in the south, were largely excluded from using public swimming areas.

In 1953, Jennie Hall, an 85 year old white retiree, came to City Council and wrote a $10,000 check after having become frustrated at the city's lack of progress in building a "Negro" pool, a news release said. With an additional $15,000 from Ms. Hall and city funding, the pool was constructed in 1954. It remained segregated until 1959 when the city opened its public pools and beaches to people of all races.

On Dec. 1, 2011, as an ongoing reminder of the omnipresent racial discrimination faced by the African American community in St. Petersburg prior to the Civil Rights Movement, according to a news release.

The pool remains operational today.