Achi news desk-
The natatorium pavilion in Worden has been closed for renovations since 2017 and now the 86-year-old building will likely be demolished.
Growing up, Wendy Duncan spent her summers swimming at Verdun’s natatorium.
“You might come for a few hours and end up staying all day, and at the end of it you’d be hungry, and then you’d go up to the roof, where there was a small buffet and you could choose up to chips, five cents a bag,” said the LaSalle resident.
The natatorium was inaugurated in July 1940. It was the first outdoor pool in Montreal and the largest in Canada at the time.
“Everybody came to the natatorium if you wanted to swim … that was the place. That was the big pool,” she said.
The pool is still open in the summer months, but its art deco pavilion is closed. The former mayor of Verdun says his sources tell him the building is to be demolished.
The city is expected to make an official announcement during a public town hall meeting on Tuesday.
“I was really surprised and I said no, no, no it’s not possible,” said Jean-Francois Parenteau, the former mayor of Verdun.
Parento is not the only person opposed to the project.
“It’s completely crazy. It’s part of Montreal’s history especially for Verdun,” said Yasmin Amraoui.
“It will be a loss not only to this community but to many other communities as well,” Duncan added.
The building, with changing rooms and showers inside, has been closed for renovations since 2017.
Work on the building was halted that year when major structural problems were found.
Parento says elected officials can stop the demolition.
“They asked me to demolish this building and I said no. They stopped the project for seven years,” he said.
Heritage Montreal says given its age, the degradation of concrete is a problem and is calling on city of Montreal officials to get involved.
“There have been examples where they’ve found ways to fix it without harming the heritage value in some other places that they needed to restore it. So those are different strategies,” said Dino Bombaro, Montreal Heritage’s director of policy and spokesperson.
The City of Montreal did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
