Did you know that the Geneva Arms once had a swimming pool?

Staffed by a lifeguard on duty approximately 60 hours per week, the pool was normally open between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The pool was used extensively by only a minority of the tenants of the 50 apartments, and for recreation by students only during the first few weeks of the Fall semester.

The apartment complex was built in 1966 on the site of the old College Hill Reservoir, and purchased by the College — along with the swimming pool — in 1968. The College dedicated the Geneva Arms Apartments on October 23, 1969. Part of the apartment complex was renamed Young Hall in 1973 in memory of Robert M. Young (trustee from 1918-1969, and president of the Board for 32 years). The other part of the complex, the Geneva Arms, was first opened to students in 1988, and the last of the non-student tenants living in the Geneva Arms moved out in 1996.

In the fall of 1979, the outdoor swimming pool at the Geneva Arms apartment complex was demolished due to operational costs and maintenance needed to make the pool and equipment suitable for long-term use. The space occupied by the pool was made into additional parking.

This article originally appeared in The Cabinet, October 25, 2023.