Hialeah's Municipal Pool was one of the South Florida's nicest pools when it opened in 1959 when I was 12 years old and I went there many times up through Hialeah High School where we had swim classes as part of Phys Ed. Municipal Pool, Park and Auditorium were renamed to Milander Pool, Park and Auditorium after the death of long-time Mayor Henry Milander in 1974.
Municipal/Milander Field was renamed to Ted Hendricks Stadium after the famous professional football player who was in my Class of 1965. He was a star basketball and football player for Hialeah High and star player for the University of Miami before going on to the NFL where he was a linebacker who played 215 straight games over 15 seasons for the Baltimore Colts, the Green Bay Packers and the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders. Ted Hendricks was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
The Google Earth image was taken in 2011 and shows the pool under reconstruction along with the new parking garage and the construction of the new Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment that opened on June 1, 2013. Several Hialeah High reunions have been held at the center, including my Class of 1965 50-Year Reunion in May 2015 and the facility is state of the art, classy and beautiful with plentiful free parking in the attached parking garage. The Class of 1966 50-Year Reunion will be held there in July 2016. The new center really puts the old Municipal (Milander) Auditorium to shame but considering that the old auditorium was a converted Food Fair grocery store it is understandable.
Below is a Miami Herald article about the pool reopening after a year's closure for major repairs:
Posted on Monday, 05.14.12
HIALEAH
City reopens Milander pool after year of repairs
Milander Park pool in Hialeah is open again after a year of repairs.
BY CHRISTINA VEIGA
CVEIGA@MIAMIHERALD.COM
Barbara Sigler said the kids and parents in Hialeah’s swimming programs are like “family.” Now that family has its home back.
Milander Park pool was recently reopened after being shuttered for about a year as the city made major repairs. The Olympic-sized pool was leaking badly because its pipes were so old — 53 years old, said Parks and Recreation director Manny Ferrera.
“It eventually gave up,” Ferrera said of the pipes. “It rusted out and had leaks all over the place.”
Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez celebrated the reopening of the pool on May 10 by snipping a red ribbon with a pair of oversized scissors. He called the pool “part of the history of Hialeah.”
The smell of chlorine wafted in the air, and the sound of kicking feet and arms slapping against the water filled the area. Parents sat on bleachers and at tables covered by metal yellow umbrellas, watching their kids swim. Little ones with swim caps and fuzzy robes walked back and forth.
All of the plumbing repairs were done in-house to save money. The repairs cost $300,000, Ferrera said. An outside contractor would have charged $1 million for the work, he said.
While the pool was being repaired, 150 kids who play water polo and another 500 young swimmers had to be relocated to pools around the city.
“We’ve been all over,” Sigler said. “It was hectic. We’re glad someone paid attention and fixed it.”
Sigler said her 15-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son were relocated to another pool on the other side of the city while Milander pool was being fixed. They spent lots of time waiting between practices rather than make the long drive back and forth. It took a toll on the family — and the team, as it was left without a home, Sigler said.
She’s happy to be back at Milander.
“It’s the best pool we have,” Sigler said.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/14/2799064/city-reopens-milander-pool-after.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy
