Crystal Lake

In 1925, Crystal Lake opened as “a swimming resort.” The “resort” hosted Sunday school picnics, graduation parties, and birthday parties. The lake was in operation until 1975.

Crystal Lake was located at the home of Harry T. Davis on Reynolda Road, about four miles from Winston-Salem, between Polo Road and Fairlawn Avenue.  

Crystal Lake location on Google Maps

The swimming pool, which was more of a small concrete-lined lake, was two hundred feet long and sixty-five feet wide. The water in the lake came from six springs and flowed into the pool at the knee-deep shallow end and ran out at the seven-foot-deep deep end where the pavilion/bath house and the diving tower were located. The water was as clear as a crystal, hence its name, Crystal Lake. 

At the deep end of the pool, the pavilion/bathhouse extended the width of the pool. The original pavilion/bathhouse was rebuilt in about 1950. 

The top portion of the pavilion/bathhouse building was a covered pavilion with benches that surrounded the perimeter. The back of the pavilion overlooked the fishing lake. The pavilion could be entered by steps on the outside so spectators could sit on the benches and watch all the happenings without paying and entering the pool area. The pavilion had a jukebox and dancing was allowed on the wooden floor. Music from the jukebox could be heard in the pool area and swimmers could see people dancing in the pavilion. 

The lower portion of the pavilion/bathhouse building was the bathhouse where swimmers entered and paid the price of admission. Wire baskets were rented to swimmers to take to the changing rooms, they could also rent a bathing suit. The swimmers placed their clothes and personal items in the basket and returned them to the counter. Each basket had a large safety pin engraved with the basket’s number. The swimmers wore the pin on their bathing suits and used it to retrieve their baskets when needed or when leaving. The bathhouse also contained a snack bar.

Just in front of the bathhouse, along the entire end wall of the deep end of the pool at the surface of the water was a shallow ledge to catch the overflow water from the pool.  Since the water in the trough was very shallow, it was always very warm, so swimmers liked to sit or lie in it (as you can see in the above image). 

At one side of the deep end was a tall diving tower with several levels of diving boards, including a diving platform.  There were springboards at the three, eight, sixteen, and twenty-four-foot levels and a fifty-foot diving platform at the top. The diving platform was later removed due to safety concerns, and, over the years, some of the diving boards were either removed or closed off. 

Originally, on the opposite side of the pool from the diving tower were bleachers for watching events, the area was later cemented and converted into an area for swimmers to sunbathe (under the watchful eyes of spectators in the pavilion). 

In the middle section of the pool was a large water wheel, which can be seen in the above two images, that swimmers could climb on and ride as it turned. The wheel was removed in later years because of increased liability insurance costs.

At the shallow end of the pool, there was a large concrete wall with a painting on it that gave the illusion of it being a bridge; this is where the spring water flowed into the pool. Just to the left of the wall was a slide with a covered area behind it where parents could sit in the shade while their children played. On the upper right side of the pool were two waterfalls you could stand under; one was in the children’s area, and the other was just outside the area. Concrete walls separated the different depths of water.

The Crystal Lake property had a boating lake with an island in it. The island had a gazebo on it and a footbridge connected the island to the shore. Boats and canoes could be rented to paddle on the lake, under the bridge, and around the island. The property also had a small fishing lake and a road circled the property and picnic tables were spread throughout the pool and lake areas.

Crystal Lake was owned and operated by the Davis family for over 50 years; in 1975, it closed after Hugh and Helen Davis retired, after managing the pool for about twenty-five years. In later years, The Corners at Crystal Lake apartment complex was developed on the property. 

The boating lake, the island and the gazebo, the footbridge, and other artifacts, such as some of the stone walls along the paths still remain on the property.

Lots of memories of Crystal Lake, it was the place to be in the sixties.