Clearpool was really an incredible place, even by the high standards of the Lauderdales.
First of all, there was the giant swimming pool itself — first constructed in the mid-1930s as an oval surrounded by a white sand beach (much like Maywood, not too far away) but later rebuilt as the large rectangular pool you see here.
But if you grew weary of swimming, Clearpool also offered a supper club, dance hall, outdoor roller rink, miniature golf course, and other attractions over the years.
Early owners included Joe Garavelli, who sold the place in 1955 to Leo Pieraccini, who was also the owner of Rainbow Lake, the skating rink / restaurant / swimming pool complex a few miles north on Lamar.
In its early days, Clearpool apparently catered to the upper crust. Advertisements announced that Irving Evans' seven-piece orchestra played "society-type music — no jitterbugging" and a newspaper article noted that the cuisine served in the Clearpool Club "is designed for those who don't mind paying a little more for something first-rate."
In later years, the most well-known of Clearpool's attractions was the Eagle's Nest, a club where Elvis used to hang out before he became famous.
The 400,000-gallon swimming pool was filled in during the 1970s, and the once-bucolic neighborhood outside of town became noisy and industrial. Clearpool was no longer considered a nice place to bring your family. Some of the original buildings remain, used in recent years as nightclubs, but an asphalt parking lot has covered up any trace of the swimming pool.
