In the early 1960s, the Evening Star called the Columbus Circle fountain in front of Union Station “a ready made swimming pool with ledges, platforms, and friendly statues. It is a grand place to wrestle and splash during the heat of the day, to get the shivers, and to finally recapture the heat by stretching full length on the warm bricks of the surrounding walk. Columbus looks on—pleased and noble.” However, as inviting as it was, swimming in the fountain was technically against Park Police regulations… which made it the perfect place to protest Washington’s shortage of accessible swimming pools.
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