Carved into the depths of Tenino’s sandstone quarry, the city’s pool is truly a unique signature of the South Thurston County city.
The Quarry Pool, according to the city’s website, is made up of two distinct bodies of water. On the shallow side, the pool must follow the requirements of the Washington State Department of Health, while the deep side is considered an inland lake and does not have special requirements. The shallow side must be drained often in the summertime for cleaning.
On Thursday, crews at the Stone City’s pool shored up work to scrape down the sandstone walls, bringing down dirt, algae, moss and other debris.
Currently, the shallow side is undergoing a reconstruction to introduce a “modern, properly engineered filtration system, new pumps for recirculation, all new spray park amenities throughout the pool area, the addition of a deck area in the pool, lighting and improved deck surfacing,” according to an email from Tenino Mayor Wayne Fournier.
Fournier added these improvements will increase safety, quality, efficiency and accessibility of the pool. In phase two of the Quarry Pool work, Fournier said the city will seek improvements to water quality and access on the deep side of the pool along with improvements to restrooms, showers and concessions.
Fournier anticipates phase one of the work to be complete when the pool opens the first week of July and phase two to be “in the works.”
Both phases of the project are funded through federal grants.
A “total overhaul” was also recently completed on the city’s Quarry House/Community Center, Fournier said.
“The Quarry House’s original construction date is currently unknown, but it was sometime around the turn of the last century, the building does appear on the 1910 Sanborn Map, so it is somewhere between 113 to 130 years old,” Fournier said. “The building was originally used as the Tenino Stone Company Office.”
Improvements were made to the building’s accessibility, restrooms, kitchen and work space. A ribbon-cutting event is set to be held for the newly-improved center, with a time and date to be determined, Fournier said.
“The re-opening has been much anticipated by our area seniors for their lunch program,” Fournier told The Chronicle via email. “We expect it to be in high demand for local events, weddings, family reunions and community classes with its new look and reasonable cost.”
