According to Philaplace.org, the Fante-Leone public pool at 837-39 Montrose St. was constructed in 1905 as a swimming and bathing place for residents and workers at the 9th St. Market. One of the two surviving original public pools constructed by the City in the early part of the 20th century, it is somewhat surprising that it has not received historic designation. Looking at the elaborate carving on the facade, you can clearly make out the inscription ‘Philadelphia Maneto,’ translated into ‘Let Brotherly Love Continue,’ through the weeds that have started growing out of it.

The pool originally had a roof, but the humidity and resulting mold led to its demolition in 1920. Now we are left with an overgrown pool and a distinguished facade currently on the market for $477,500. Regrettably, this current owner purchased the property for $350K a few years ago, so we don’t expect the price to come down much lower.

New development is on the way just down the street

It’s a shame, because a creative builder could do wonderful things with the 2800 sqft. lot that this pool sits on, and could (we hope) even include the existing facade in said development. Especially with new houses on the way on the other end of the block. But there’s no way anything happens at that price. Then again, the owners haven’t paid their property taxes since taking possession of the property and currently owe the city in excess of $12K. Maybe the Sheriff’s office could step in and loosen things up.

That sounds plausible, right?

Anyone?

Wait, why is everybody laughing?