NOVA Parks News
THROWBACK THURSDAY--NOVA PARKS--KEEPING COOL
The pool at Pohick Bay Regional Park all started with an ashtray and a pen!
Wait, what?
It’s true.
Back in the early 1970’s, Darrell Winslow, Executive Director of NOVA Parks (Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority) envisioned a large pool that the organization should build at Pohick Bay. When asked what it should look like, Mr. Winslow reached for an ashtray and then a pen. Using the ashtray as his guide, he drew adjoining circles onto a piece of paper and exclaimed, “Build it like that!”
In 1972, the pool was opened. At the time it was the largest pool on the east coast and quickly became one of the most popular spots in the Washington, D.C. area, to have fun beating the summer heat.
Fast forward to 2019 and the pool is now one of our beloved waterparks, Pirate’s Cove. As you can see in the video much has changed yet the original design from the ashtray has stayed the same.
As a regional park system, NOVA Parks has always looked for ways to create remarkable designation parks. Pohick Bay was the biggest pool on the east coast at the time, the W&OD was the longest trail in Virginia for decades and, to the best of our knowledge, the Bull Run Festival of Lights may be the longest all-LED light show in the Universe. NOVA Parks has always thought big.
