Morris Estate Pool is at 1610 W. Chelten Ave., 19126.
Phone: (215) 685-2891
Morris Estate Cultural Center Facebook
Compact pentagon-shaped pool
Steps (no railings) in shallow/tot corner
Depth: 2 to 5 feet
Cooler water in partial shade
Okay to bring belongings inside the pool deck
Men’s and women’s rooms inside (sometimes locked) rec center
AUGUST 18, 2024 – Update
As I paste my reports from Facebook to this blog, I am copying and pasting information from the City’s recreation website, and notice that according the the official City site, this pool is still closed. Will investigate and update.
JULY 21, 2024 – Update
I walked in right before the end of Sunday free swim, which was a lovely finish to a day of successful as well as unsuccessful pool revisits. This is the first pentagon-shaped pool I have visited that has stairs but no handrails.
About 10 to 15 kids were in the pool, and some of the older boys were throwing a football that just missed a toddler. After profuse apologies, everything calmed down for the final moments of a lovely Sunday afternoon. At 4:30pm, the sun was out but half the pool was shaded by trees. That half was noticeably cooler.
The rec center with restrooms was locked up, but the guard offered to open it, which I declined since they were closing up and it’s just a 10-minute drive for me to pee at home.
On my way out, I bought a dollar bag of chips from the kid who was selling snacks at the gate.
JULY 14, 2024 – Update
The pool is sadly still closed, but the rec center door was open, so I walked in and was told by staff that they were hoping to open any day, but a staffing shortage has prevented it from happening so far. When and if they do open, it may be for just a couple of days a week to ensure safety.
JULY 8, 2024
Searching for this address almost broke the GPS function on my phone yesterday (not to mention burned a bunch of unnecessary gasoline). Apparently the address numbers on Chelten Avenue in Oak Lane are at odds with the address numeration in Germantown, which was once a separate town (America’s oldest suburb I have heard it a called).
Today, my wife and I were able to find the pool without any trouble by searching for “Morris Estate,” so if you are commuting here using any sort of GPS, I recommend that approach.
The pool at this recreation center in Oak Lane was dry today, although they were scheduled to be open yesterday.
It’s clear that the pool was just painted.
But there are stairs! No railings, but stairs…
The playground has no splash garden, but a couple of buildings that hopefully have restrooms/changing areas. Doors were locked on the main building though. When I called the rec center, they said that they’re waiting for word on when the pool will actually open –hopefully in a couple of days.
Swimming Philadelphia 