Francisville Playground

I went there for the first time today with my 7 year old niece. We went to the pool. It was really great. The pool is very big and there were 3 lifeguards on duty. The lifeguards were very friendly and did their job well. It was hardly anyone there at noon when we got there. But around 4pm it got pretty crowded with mostly kids. They were all well behaved and interacted with each other nicely. I will definitely be going back at some point.

Love going to the Francisville Pool. I live about ¼ mile away and walk or bike there. Great place to do some laps and cool down. Outside of the pool it’s not very recreation friendly b/​c you aren’t allowed to bring chairs inside and the surface is only concrete, but hey, it’s worth the price of admission (p.s. it’s free). The neighborhood can be a bit intimidating but it’s getting better every year.

It wasn’t until a friend moved right next to the pool in Port Richmond that it occurred to me that there must be more public pools in this city. After some clicks on the city’s recreation website (that only gets 1 star), I found my neighborhood pool.
This pool… definitely made me smile. It’s pretty «roughing it» when compared to my suburban childhood recollections of pools: they have lifeguards on duty (although kids were running and throwing each other in rather freely), the pool is pretty small, and their shower, um, facilities, were rather rudimentary (i.e. a spout sticking out of the grout on a building). No food bar or folding chaise lounges here, but the water was clean, cool and not excessively chlorinated. It was certainly lively with tons of kids, but my friend and I were still able to swim laps in a corded off area.
Hours, according to the lifeguard, are 1 pm to 7, with 5 – 7 pm reserved for adults or children only when accompanied by adults. They also close in the middle of the afternoon on weekends for some swim team or something.
Definitely recommended for a cheap summer thrill.