
Aquatic Center employees started stacking chairs at about 4:30 p.m. on Monday evening. The pool closed for the season at 5 p.m. that day. Staff photo by Danedri Thompson
The Gardner Aquatic Center shuttered its doors for the season on Labor Day — the unofficial end of summer. Guests at the pool on Sept. 6 said the water was a little cold, but that didn’t stop dozens of kids from splashing through the final hours of the summer. The slides were full, but the Olympic-size pool was off-limits to swimmers on Monday afternoon.
The Gardner Aqautic Center closed during weekdays once school started only to open its doors on weekends for reduced hours. The center opened in 2007 and is funded, along with Celebration Park, by a half-cent sales tax.