Hawthorne pool complex built in 1954 needs a real name. Officials announce a contest

HAWTHORNE — That super fun place at the corner of May Street and Wagaraw Road needs a real name.

The 10.7-acre complex at the south end of the borough features a bandshell, a baseball diamond, a new playground, a swimming pool and four tennis courts, but no one is sure how to refer to it.

Mayor John Lane, a borough native, said residents often have to improvise.

"You say you're going to the pool," he explained. "We felt we may want to give it a name that's synonymous with the whole complex."

A contest is now open to all residents to choose a proper name for the park, which will be announced at Hawthorne Day festivities on Sept. 24.

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Residents can submit their ideas to officials through the end of the month. A committee of judges, including Lane and Councilman Joseph Wojtecki, representing the 1st Ward, will select a winner. Prizes will be awarded to honorable mentions.

The pool, technically called Memorial Pool, opened at the complex in June 1954. The $250,000 project won emphatic approval in a bond referendum at the polls two years earlier.

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The most recent addition to the complex — the playground — opened last month. It was partially funded by a $75,000 open space grant from Passaic County. Officials got aid in the same amount to install light fixtures along the walkway that leads to the bandshell.

Participants in the contest should email suggestions to namethepark@hawthornenj.org.

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Each resident is limited to one submission in the "Name the Park" contest. Each entry must include the participant's name, email address, phone number and street address.

Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: devencentis@northjersey.com