Baltimore’s historically-Black communities receive upgraded pools after decades of neglect

As the summer heat continues, residents of Baltimore's historically-Black neighborhoods can now cool off a little more easily. After decades of unequal investments between Baltimore’s Black and white communities, the city has invested millions to renovate five pools across West and East Baltimore. The result has been record-breaking pool attendance, with 200,000 visitors citywide in the first five weeks of summer, reports Reagin von Lehe for Next City.

Prior to the renovations, most of the pools in West and East Baltimore were over 50 years old and often closed without warning. One patrol told the Baltimore Banner that the old Towanda Pool in Park Heights lacked pool chairs and was littered with garbage. 

Baltimore hired design firm CannonDesign to renovate the pools. The team created a simple model, which included two pools, a bathhouse, a pump house and a security fence meant to be adaptable enough to apply to every pool in need of renovations. 

In 2025, Baltimore opened the new Towanda Recreation Center. Patrons can now enjoy a clean community space, featuring a lap pool, a walk in pool, reclining chairs and umbrella-shaded tables. The initiative's success is not limited to Towanda, either: the Greater Model Aquatic Center in Poppleton opened in June 2026 and now sees double the patrons it did prior to closing in 2019. The city plans to open its fifth renovated pool, in City Springs, in two years.

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