As summer begins its winddown, it reminds us of a time before smartphones and social media, before GPS and Google Maps, there was a place whispered about among Granite City teens, teens looking for something to do on a hot summer evening, a place that felt secret, sacred, and just a little bit forbidden. It was called the Blue Pool, and if you were lucky (or bold) enough to find it, you knew you were in for something unforgettable.
Carved out of the bluffs on the Great River Road near Alton, Illinois, the Blue Pool wasn’t marked on any tourist map. You had to know someone who knew someone. And once you did, you’d squeeze through the fencing, hop a few rocks, and suddenly find yourself staring into a deep, glassy pool of water that shimmered with mystery.
Originally a rock quarry operated in the late 1800s, the site was abandoned when workers struck a deep-water table. Over time, the pit filled with water, forming what locals began calling the Blue Pool. Some say the name came from the way the sky reflected off its surface, others swear the water itself had a strange, almost magical hue…