City of Coral Gables photo
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Miami, you have something to look forward to between Miami Art Week and the holidays.
The City of Coral Gables has confirmed Venetian Pool will reopen to the public on Tuesday, December 9. Up until this point, the public had been told that the pool would reopen this fall. With the season winding down and the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching, New Times checked in with a city spokesperson, who confirmed the reopening date. When asked for additional specifics, the spokesperson said the city does not yet have further details or photos of the renovated pool to share.
Still, there is at least one event already scheduled to take place at the dearly missed outdoor venue. Before the public opening date, Venetian Pool will host a closing ceremony for the year-long Coral Gables centennial celebration on Sunday, December 7. The gala-style evening, for which guests are asked to wear cocktail or 1920s-themed attire, includes a performance by the Miami Symphony Orchestra. General admission tickets are available for $250.
Venetian Pool, the largest freshwater pool in the United States, opened in 1924 as part of Coral Gables founder George Merrick’s grand plan for the city. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 and is a Miami childhood institution. The Mediterranean Revival-style venue closed for renovations in October 2024 and was initially set to reopen in the spring of this year, but the date was pushed back to the fall and now, early December.
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The city’s Community Recreation Department has shared updates on the renovation on its @gablesparks Instagram account throughout the duration of the project. “The water pumps and drainage system at the historic Venetian Pool have finally been tested after a long period of restoration,” read the last update, posted on November 10. “This iconic landmark will be fully operational and ready to welcome visitors very soon!” An action-packed reel, set to the tune of Europe’s “The Final Countdown,” showed crews testing the system as water poured into the pool for the first time in ages.
Before this year’s project, the pool closed for renovations in November 2019 and was set to reopen in March 2020, but the pandemic pushed the reopening to September of that year.
