Tag: Coral Gables

It’s finally happening.

Coral Gables’ historic and popular Venetian Pool will reopen Tuesday, Dec. 9, following an extensive renovation and restoration project.

The pool, which shuttered in October 2024 for repairs, was initially set to reopen in June, then in the fall, but renovations took longer than expected. Now, its extensive and pricey facelift is complete, just in time for the city’s grand centennial finale.

The city will be hosting a centennial concert at the historic pool on Sunday, Dec. 7, to mark the end of its yearlong 100th birthday celebration. For concertgoers, the celebration will also serve as a sneak peek for the pool, which will officially open two days later, with a grand opening celebration expected in January.

The Venetian Pool, built from coral rock with waterfalls and cave-like grottos, is filled daily with 820,000 gallons of spring water from the underground Biscayne ​Aquifer. Once the pool closes for the day, the water is drained and sent back to the aquifer. The pool is cleaned and then refilled overnight.

The December opening will give Venetian Pool fans and tourists the chance to take a dip during South Florida’s holiday season, which should be a relatively unique experience. The city has traditionally closed the pool, which is one of the city’s most popular attractions, every December and January for annual maintenance.

This time around, because of its lengthy closure, the pool is expected to remain open until late 2026, Fred Couceyro, the city’s community recreation director, told the Miami Herald earlier this year.

Visitors likely won’t notice any major changes to the pool since renovations were made in a way that would keep its historic appearance. The pool, which first opened in 1924 as the Venetian Casino, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 and is one of the few swimming pools in the country to have that designation.

“It’s such a unique attraction,” city spokeswoman Martha Pantin told the Herald, noting that the pool draws visitors from all over the world and is the No. 1 most-visited page on the city’s website. Nearly 65,000 people visited the pool in the year before it closed.

The city’s community recreation department, which manages the pool, announced the completion of the renovation project in a Nov. 14 social media post, sharing a first look at the pool’s “refreshed, welcoming entryway that enhances both beauty and convenience.”

The $6 million renovation involved removing and replacing outdated pump equipment, restoring the “Venetian Poles” that stick out of the pool, and adding a water recirculation pump system — a first for the Venetian — to the 101-year-old pool. That type of system is commonly used in regular swimming pools to clean the water without needing to drain and refill the pool. Regardless, the pool will still be filled with spring water from the aquifer.

Renovations were also made to the concession stand area, where visitors may want to order a hot chocolate if they plan to take a winter dip in the pool.

That’s because the water is usually a cool 76 degrees, which may be chilly for some South Floridians, especially now in our Miami winter, although it’s slightly warmer than the spring water mermaids swim and perform in at Florida’s Weeki Wachee Springs.